The Tiny Village

A few days have passed since I left home; this is the longest I've been on my own. I pass a few small villages and stay at an inn and hunt for food, it's usually something small like a squirrel or rabbit; I haven't hunted for food since I was little. Brings back some memories, ones I wish I could forget.

It's not my fault I haven't tried for the knights, is it? The events that occurred aren't my fault. I wasn't doing anything wrong I was forced…forced to hurt someone…someone who hurt me for no reason. Yeah, that's it, it was self-defense. However, what I did cost me a lot…I bump into someone who gives me a dirty look.

"Sorry."

"Bitch."

Talk about rude.

The village I'm going to be staying at is just another day out, and then I can get some serious training in. For now though, I look up at the sky and notice that the clouds are starting to hide the sun as it sets, I need to find somewhere to rest. I walk a little further and notice that there are some dim lights up ahead. It starts drizzling and I walk faster towards the lights, a tiny village consisting of only a few houses appears in front of me. The people walk around frantically going to their houses.

"Excuse me."

A woman looks at me as she cocks her head.

"Is there an inn or somewhere I can stay for the night, I'm just passing by."

The woman stares at me intently. "There isn't an inn here we usually don't have travelers, if you would like you can spend the night at my house." She smiles sweetly and gestures towards her house insisting that I go to it. We enter her little cabin and I look around and see that there's a small couch at one end of the room and a table and sink on the other. "We're a small simple village. There's a bathroom upstairs you can use, I'll bring a blanket and pillow for you to use." I nod and the woman goes upstairs.

I sit on the couch and take my backpack off and my swords.

One more day and I can finally train.

The woman is standing in front of me holding a blanket and pillow; she smiles sweetly as she hands them to me. "Will you be leaving early or staying for breakfast?"

"I'll be leaving pretty early; I'm hoping to reach my destination by tomorrow."

"Oh? Where are you going?

"A village I used to live in."

"Oh okay. Well, if you're hungry there's food on the table please help yourself." The woman smiles before she goes upstairs.

I lie down on the small couch and stare at the ceiling, it looks old and worn down. My thoughts start to drift as I fall asleep. I'm eventually woken up to a loud bang and I jump up and immediately grab one of my swords and unsheathe it, holding it with both of my hands at the holster. I look around frantically not moving, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

"My, you have some quick reflexes." A low deep voice echoes throughout the room.

"Who's there?"

There's a silent chuckle that fills the room. "Tell me, did my puppet do a good job?"

"Your puppet?" My eyes finally adjust, but I don't see anyone in the room.

"Yes, the woman that so graciously invited you to stay here. She is one of my many puppets, in fact everyone in this village I control."

"What are you talking about? You can't control people."

"Come now, surely you've heard about all the different types of magic. I can control people with just a taste of their blood." Suddenly as if on cue there's a loud noise from the other side of the room. I squeeze my swords holster and move, I don't know where or why I just know I need to get out of here.

I run for the door but get knocked down, my arms are pinned to the floor and my sword is out of reach. I feel something run down my neck and I shiver.

"Have you ever heard of Blood Magic?" The voice, he's right on top of me what am I supposed to do? "It's one of the strongest types of magic; it can manipulate anyone's mind and body. Hardly anyone possesses it, and those that do are the most powerful." I thrash my body around trying to get free from the stranger, but it doesn't work instead he tightens his grip, I can tell he's smiling. "You've got some spirit; maybe I'll keep you we could have a lot of fun together."

He moves my arms so they're above my head and he holds them both with one hand, I hear shuffling and assume he's doing something with his other hand. I try again to get free but it doesn't work, a few moments later he forcibly opens one of my hands so my palm is exposed and I feel something sharp cut into it.

I cry out in pain as the stranger laughs, I feel one of his fingers move over the cut and I can hear him inhale and exhale enjoying the scent of my blood. "Your blood smells exquisite I simply can't wait to taste it." He gets up off of me and before I know it I'm grabbing my sword prepared for his next move.

The lights turn on and I'm blinded momentarily, I see a tall figure standing a few feet away from me. The man smiles before licking the finger that has my blood I hesitate expecting something big to happen to me, but nothing does. I start running for the stranger prepared to attack him, but he falls to the ground coughing. "Your blood…you're not human. It's….killing me! What are you!?" He grabs his throat gasping. "No…no matter I just….need more." He reaches out, but I step on his hand as he coughs.

"I don't know what your deal is but you're done controlling these people." A few moments later the man stops coughing and gasping, he's stopped breathing completely. I fall to the floor relieved. I sigh as I look at the man. I know he hurt people, but he didn't deserve to die. I drift off into a deep sleep with the events that just occurred running through my mind.

I feel something poke me and I jump up trying to grab my sword but it's not here. It's the woman from last night; she looks at me with worry on her face. "Are you okay?" I look around hoping to see the guy but he's not here. "A few of the villagers came and took him." I rub my eyes remembering what happened, the woman helps me up and we sit on the couch.

"Thank you; I didn't remember what happened for a second."

"You saved us, that guy was controlling all the adults and had the children locked up." The woman grabs my hand and looks at the cut. "I can bandage that up for you if you would like." I nod and she goes to get some gauge for my hand.

The events of last night keep running through my mind, the woman comes back and starts to wrap my hand up. "We owe you so much, were grateful for what you did."

"It's no problem really."

The woman finishes with my hand and suggests that we go outside, breakfast is almost ready and the villagers want to meet me, I agree. As soon as she opens the door people come over and try talking to me, the woman tells everyone to give me some space and they do. When I finally get away from everyone I see that there are a few long tables with chairs and some people sitting at them. The woman walks with me to a chair and we sit side by side.

"Tell me, what's your name?"

"Skye." I say as I pile food onto my plate, I know I wanted to leave early but I did save these people so the least I can do is eat their food.

"Skye, it's nice to officially meet you, you may call me Raina."

"It's nice to meet you too, Raina."

We start eating and talking, people occasionally come up to me and thank me. After about an hour of eating and talking Raina and I go back to her house, she tells me she put my sword with my other belongings while I was sleeping and that she put in a couple of medical kits.

"If you ever need anything at all please don't hesitate to come by. Our little village is open to you." She smiles at me and I nod getting ready to leave the village, the people wave at me while the kids run around me laughing and thanking me.

I helped people already and I'm not even a knight, I'm so ready for this. I start running in the direction of where I'm going, excited.