Webnovel

Chapter 1: Stranger in the woods

He stalks the brilliant black bear, the laws of nature flipped on their heads. The stranger's feet barely settling into the dirt, a seemingly impossible feat considering his heavy black boots. He snakes his way between the last few trees and shrubs before the clearing where the bear is dangerously preoccupied. He misses every twig and potentially crisp leaf with a grace I can't help but be in complete awe of.

With the stranger's spear trying to find Zion's heartbeat , the exact thing that marked him as a stranger, I slip closer, with a similar catlike ability. The crown of flowers I was weaving, abandoned in the tree I had been lounging in when I spotted him making his way closer to my bear.

"Try it. I dare you." I whisper, the blade of my dagger close enough to his neck that the shadow could pierce his skin. Zion looks up from the beehive she had been snout deep into, she grunts apologetically before dropping the hive and starting to get up.

"I've got this one, Zi." I half call out to the bear, my tone confirming that she can go back to devouring the liquid gold oozing from the grey mass she had cracked open earlier.

"Drop the spear and I won't let her eat you." I press the flat edge of my blade against his skin, still giving him the benefit of the doubt, but not letting go of him entirely. He lets the wooden spike go and raises both hands before swallowing hard. I don't think the man has breathed since feeling the cold promise of metal against his exposed neck.

"I was not aware she is off the table, so to speak." The stranger smirks at his own little joke. "Would you mind?" he points at my dagger, his other hand still signalling that he is not a threat. I lower my weapon, but don't return it to its sheath just yet.

Zion keeps her eye on us the entire time, she probably feels guilty that he got so close without her noticing, it is her job to keep me safe after all.

The stranger turns slowly, turning his back on Zion completely almost as if to prove he isn't afraid of the black bear watching his every breath.

"What is a nice young girl like you doing out in the woods all by yourself?" his gaze starts at my worn boots. My leather pants seem to amuse him, that same smirk from earlier playing on his lips with the suggestion of a dimple ghosting on his cheek. As his eyes make their way up my body I was suddenly glad it was slightly cold this morning and I threw on this leather overskirt, because I am convinced he could see through the flowy white cotton of the blouse I am wearing. His expression changes, as it always does with new people, when he notices the shock of white hair I had braided on top of my head. His smile returns quickly as he almost expertly hid his confusion and made eye contact with me for the first time. My black irises must not have helped because his burning amber eyes ask a million questions while his smirk remains stoic.

"I am clearly not alone," I point my dagger at Zion, "and I'm clearly not that nice either." I twirl the dagger around between my fingers, showing off just a little bit to remind him I do infact know what I'm doing with the blade. His fingertips touch his neck briefly before pushing his dirty golden curls back. His hair should have been another indication that he's in fact a stranger and not from Euldo. His curls end just below his jaw, which has light stubble shading it, it is gnomic custom for men to grow their hair and beards out. It's supposed to be some sort of show of honour. The stranger isn't built like a gnome either; he's too tall and scrawny. But then again so am I, but that's probably got more to do with the moon than anything else. Maybe he's an elf, who wandered too far? But then again an elf would never try and hurt an animal, and his clothes are too dark. Besides nobody in Euldo has seen an elf since we nearly drove them to distinction a few wars ago.

"I suppose you're right, thugs would be stupid to try and attack the girl with the bear." He pulls my attention out of my own head and back to the situation, with a voice dripping in honey, everything about him seems golden. His blazing eyes mirror the sun barely visible in the sky peeking through the trees canopying us, they seem to be hiding something as well but he never breaks eye contact. Most people I know are generally too afraid to look at me for too long much less stare directly into my soul like this stranger is.

"If I am not mistaken, you just called yourself stupid, sir." I steal his smirk, his eyes hint at laughter shifting to a more yellow tone.

"Some might call me that, others simply call me Mars." He holds out his smooth hand as if to shake mine, something nobody has ever done before, "and you are?"

Zion nudged me with her snout, it's time to leave. She looks at Mars with an obvious distrust that makes me want to laugh. He smiles at her, showing her all of his perfect teeth. I truly cannot tell if this is an attempt at friendship or a threat, possibly a bit of both. She huffs at him, her indifference to his existence audible. He laughs, a sound that bubbles up from the pit of his stomach.

"Late. The tavern in town might be a good place to get some food. And a bath!" I call back at him, while getting on Zion's waiting back and disappearing into the thick forest, leaving the tall stranger with only his questions and his own mysteries.