Tales Of Syphona Fan Fiction ❯ Adbertos ❯ Chapter 2- Trust ( Chapter 2 )

It hadn’t taken long to carry the unconscious girl away from the ranch to the relatively hidden place the man had set up camp. As he entered the clearing his traveling companion looked up curiously, shaking his head as if in disapproval.

“I know Noishe,” the man said quietly. “But I couldn’t leave her there. Someone would have found her and taken her back to the ranch.”

Noishe stood up, shaking out his odd cream and teal fur and ventured closer to inspect this new person. The creature strongly favored a very large canine with oversized ears, however there was much more to Noishe than his peculiar appearance.

The man ignored his strange companion for the moment, carrying the girl closer to the fire. He had noticed while carrying her that she was soaked; as thin as she was it wouldn’t take much for the dampness to make her ill. He laid her down as close as he dared to the flames, Noishe determinedly curled up next to her, allowing the girl’s head to rest against his side. The muttered ‘thanks’ from his friend set the creature’s tail to beating against the ground.

Sitting back the man studied the girl before him. He was puzzled as to why the Desians attacking her had not simply killed her. In the past the half-elves who controlled the ranches had not hesitated to make examples of those who had dared to defy them. There were plenty of humans, a few lives taken here and there to make the others fear them did not affect their plans. Yet it had appeared to him that they were trying to take her alive; but for what purpose?

She seemed to be an ordinary human girl, no older than twenty surely. Her looks were pleasant and she had probably been quite pretty before she had experienced the sufferings of a slave. Now her face was riddled with cuts, the exposed skin of her arms and hands scratched and bruised. Her hair was a short length, unkempt, full of leaves and debris from the forest. The color was hard to determine in the weak light, some shade of brown perhaps.

Her eyes were closed for the moment but the man vividly remembered meeting the chocolate-colored orbs. He hadn’t been able to place the expression in them; there had been fear, but also something else. Not finding anything extraordinary on the surface he decided to make a closer inspection. Crouching forward he brushed her hair back, startling Noishe, who raised his head.

“What is it about her that’s so important to them?” he asked the creature, receiving a snort of indifference in reply. He continued his examination, muttering incantations to heal the small abrasions and pausing as he came to her right hand. There, embedded in the skin, was a small, dark blue gem; one he recognized immediately. “So that must be it then. But still, why her? They have plenty of others….”

The fact that the girl had this gem did not surprise the man in the least. He had presumed that she had come from the ranch; it was practically a given with all the Desians tracking her down. The only humans from the ranch who were free of these gems were those who had only just arrived; by the look of it this gem had been embedded for quite some time.

There was something special about it then, and if it was special to Kvar then it was special to others too….

Pondering this he stood up, pacing away towards the fringe of the clearing and settling at the base of a tree where he could keep watch over the campsite. It wouldn’t do for anyone to stumble across him right now, not that he thought there was much of a chance of that happening.

Noishe settled back down, lying his head on his paws and closing his eyes. Within moments he had joined the girl in slumber. Shaking his head in concession the man settled in for what looked to be a very long night.

***

The first thing Anna was aware of was the warmth. At the ranch she had seldom known the sensation, everything was cold and damp, so the warmth was startling. Then she remembered her last moments of consciousness and bolted awake.

She sat up too quickly, instantly regretting the movement as the world swam before her eyes. Reaching out to steady herself her hand brushed something soft and furry, causing her to yelp in alarm. She turned to look, backpedaling as she saw what looked like an enormous dog, far larger than any she had ever heard of.

“Calm down,” a quiet voice said behind her. “He won’t hurt you.”

Whipping her head around brought on another wave of vertigo but she fought the imbalance better this time, focusing her eyes on the speaker. Her eyes widened in recognition, a question bursting from her impulsively, “Who are you?”

The firelight created odd patches of light and shadow, distorting her vision and making it harder to read his intent. His eyes seemed impassive and his face betrayed no sign of emotion; Anna studied him a moment as she waited for his response. He moved his head fractionally, his hair falling further into his eyes, remaining irritatingly silent.

Anna voiced her query again. “Are you not going to tell me who you are?”

“Who I am is not as important as who you are, and why you were being attacked.”

Anna stared at him, somewhat surprised at this. “I escaped from the ranch. They were trying to make me go back.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you know why?”

She shook her head. “No, and why would I tell you if I did? You haven’t given me any reason to. I don’t know who you are or where you come from. I don’t understand why you helped me.”

He met her gaze levelly. “Perhaps you should rest.”

Anna stared incredulously at him. Rest? How was she supposed to rest? She didn’t know who he was, she didn’t know if she was safe or if she could trust him. For the moment she did not seem to have many options. He had chased away the Desians that had been after her so she knew she couldn’t fight him. Then there was the enormous dog she was sure would find her even if she managed to get away. And even if she did, by some miracle, elude this stranger she had no inkling as to where she was anymore.

“Are you going to take me back to them?” she asked softly, afraid of the answer.

“I have no intention of giving you to the Desians.”

She studied him for a moment, “Do you swear it?”

“And what would you have me swear an oath upon?”

“Martel,” Anna replied without hesitation. Even the Desians seemed to hold her in reverence, surely this man would too. “Swear it to the Goddess.”

He stared at her, some strange sentiment in his eyes. She looked away from his face, the intensity of his gaze too much for her to bear.

“I promise you, in Martel’s name, that I will not forsake you. As long as you are in my company you will be perfectly safe.”

She looked up then, seeing the assurance in his eyes. He held her gaze for a moment before continuing. “You should rest. We should not stay here long and you will not make it far in your current condition. Rest.”

She felt herself nodding as she settled back down, still gazing at him across the fire. The warmth of the flames soothed her and she found that she was far more exhausted than she had thought. Stifling a yawn she decided that she would trust this stranger. There had been something in his eyes when she had asked him to swear to Martel; something that assured her that she could trust him. Closing her eyes she gave voice to this trust, muttering her submission.

“My name is Anna.”

There was a moment of silence, then the smallest sigh.

“I am Kratos.”

***

The sun had just began lighting the world with its soft glow when Anna felt herself being shaken awake. She was desperately tired and tried to ignore whoever was disturbing her rest, but to no avail.

“Anna, you must get up, now.”

That voice; she opened her eyes.

The fire was out now, the strange dog no longer beside her. Instead the man was kneeling next to her, his gaze focused out into the forest around them. He glanced down, seeing her awake he pulled her into a sitting position.

“Someone is coming this way,” he explained, pulling her on her feet. “We need to hide you.”

“Can’t we run?” Anna asked, remembering Maribelle’s failed attempt to hide.

He paused, looking at her. “You will be fine if you do as I say.” He pulled her across the clearing towards the trees. “This should do.”

Before she completely understood what he meant he had wrapped his hands around her waist and hoisted her up towards the low branches of the tree. Anna froze, unconsciously clutching at him in panic. “No!”

“You need to climb up in the tree Anna. You will be safe there.”

She shook her head frantically, “I can’t!”

He lowered her slowly to the ground and disentangled her fingers from where she still clutched at his hair. “We don’t have time for this, you will be fine up there, but you need to get in the tree. Now.”

She shook her head, eyes wide with fear as she stared at him.

“Are you… scared of trees?”

“Heights,” Anna corrected, looking down.

“I see.”

Without warning he had picked her up again and climbed up into the branches of the tree. Anna bit back her cry, just managing to remember the unknown danger heading in their direction. She closed her eyes, opening them only as she felt herself sat down. She quickly closed them again. It seemed that she was halfway up the tree, seated on a sturdy branch with her back to the trunk.

“Be still and don’t make a sound.”

With those words and a brief rush of movement Kratos was gone. Anna’s heart beat wildly in her chest and she struggled to calm herself. She tried to convince herself that she was safe, opening her eyes slightly and staring into the leafy boughs of the tree. If she glanced down to the left she could see Kratos at the base of the tree, apparently at ease. His sword lay close at hand and the dog was beside him, looking off into the trees on the opposite side of the clearing.

Anna focused on the pair beneath her, not daring to move her eyes away. It was only a moment before a soft growl came from the dog and the sounds of footsteps came into the camp.

“Sir-!”

The voice sounded hesitant, surprised. Anna frowned, it was as if the speaker knew Kratos.

“I apologize for disturbing you!”

“And for what purpose have you disturbed me?” Kratos asked, his voice harsh and cutting.

Anna could sense the hesitation behind the speaker’s next words. “We are looking for a girl who escaped from the ranch. She stole a valuable object from General Kvar.”

Definitely a Desian, Anna thought. She wondered how many there were. Beneath her Kratos stood up, walking away from the base of the tree and out of Anna’s sight. She swallowed as she gazed at the empty patch of dirt.

“And what has been stolen?” he asked casually. “Perhaps I could offer the General my assistance in retrieving this item.”

“Sir, it would be much appreciated!” the Desian replied, sounding relieved. “The girl that escaped is experiment A012, part of the General’s Angelus project.”

There was a sharp intake of breath somewhere below her. Anna frowned, her brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of the Desian’s words. Angelus project?

“Very well,” Kratos’ voice echoed up to her. “I will search for this human myself and will report to the General when I have found her. You may relay the message to him.”

“Yes sir!”

Footsteps scuffled off and Anna found herself breathing again. She closed her eyes in thought, puzzled over this new knowledge and worried about the exchange she had overheard. The Desian had known Kratos; what did this mean? And Kratos had promised them his assistance in locating Anna - why? It was true that he hadn’t given her away immediately, but would he now take her back to Kvar? Could she really trust him?

“It’s safe; you can come down.”

Anna clung to her branch, eyes wide at the thought of climbing down from her perch. After a brief pause, and what suspiciously sounded like a chuckle, the tree started swaying. Anna tensed, fingers digging against the bark of the tree for a better grip. The movement of the tree was nauseating so she closed her eyes tightly, biting her lip.

“You did well,” a voice said in her ear a moment later. “They did not even suspect you were here.”

Anna stared beseechingly at him, “Please, get me down.”

***

Anna had hardly set foot on the ground when Kratos began leading the way out of the clearing and away from the campsite. Anna hurried to catch up to him, her mind bursting with questions. She decided to start with one she thought would be unthreatening.

“Where did your dog go?”

“Noishe will catch back up with us,” he answered, not looking back.

So far, so good, she thought. He hadn’t ignored her question so she thought she would try another.

“Where are we going?”

“Away from here.”

“Did that Desian know you?”

Silence answered her query.

“It seemed to me that he knew who you are,” Anna continued softly, hoping that she was not angering him.

“I did not know him personally,” Kratos answered after a pause. “He knew of me. I’ve… worked with them.”

“You’ve worked with them?” Anna repeated, alarm filling her voice. “Are you a half-elf?”

He stopped, turning towards her. “No.”

She frowned, “But you have worked with them? For them? How? Do you help them take humans prisoner? Are you…?”

“That… does not matter.”

“How can you say that?” Anna insisted. “You must know…. They….”

“I suppose you could call me a mercenary of sorts,” Kratos said after a moment, turning away and starting off again. Anna hurried to catch up.

“A mercenary?” she questioned, watching his reaction closely. He continued on without the slightest pause. “If you are a mercenary then why did you not hand me over? I’m sure they would have rewarded you.”

“There are… conflicting interests.”

“And those are?” Anna pressed.

“They do not concern you.”

“But obviously they do!” Anna insisted, stopping and staring at his back. “Am I to blindly follow you?”

Kratos paused, turning slightly. “Let us say that you have an object that I do not wish to come back into the General’s possession.”

“The Angelus project?” Anna asked softly.

“You were listening.”

“Yes; what is it?” Anna continued, “Why do you not want Kvar to have it?”

“…”

Kratos turned, heading along the path once more. Anna stared after him, at a loss as to what she should do. Obviously this Angelus project was valuable, and now that Kratos knew the reason why the Desians were after her he also knew her worth. And he had admitted that he was a mercenary. Could mercenaries be trusted?

She watched as the man continued along, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she lagged behind. Could she trust him? She had thought she could, when he had sworn to the Goddess Martel. He had promised that she would be safe, that he would protect her. But mercenaries only protected their own interests, right? And if she were valuable it would be in his interest to protect her, at least until he was compensated. He refused to say where they were heading. Was that because he knew she would refuse to follow him? Should she follow him now?

Swallowing hard Anna began to back away, heading in the opposite direction that Kratos had taken. Perhaps it would be in her best interest to seek out her own path. She would trust the Goddess to guide her footsteps and pray that she would come out of this for the better.

She walked along, hoping to find some sign that looked even vaguely familiar, muttering her prayer under her breath.

“May the Angels guide my footsteps along a protected path. May the obstacles I face cause not trouble, pain nor tribulation. May the Goddess accept my prayers and await me in Heaven when at last my journey is complete.”

So involved in finding her way out of the forest Anna did not realize she was being followed. It wasn’t until they darted out from the trees and pushed her roughly to the ground that she realized she had made yet another mistake. She looked up into the smirking faces of the Desians surrounding her, her hope bursting like a fragile soap bubble, and screamed in anguish.

Somewhere deeper in the forest Kratos turned, hearing the cry, only to discover that Anna no longer followed.