Chapter 13: A situational game of chess.

King Of The Forest

Chapter 13: A situational game of chess.

**[POV: Tal.]**

I jolt awake to a bright light, painfully coughing out a liquid from my lungs. I turn to my left side to let the liquid pass easily.

A few forced coughs later a voice speaks to me from behind.

"You're finally awake. I thought you had passed but I see now you're quite hard to kill."

Turning quickly, I see the werewolf woman seated on the snow looking at me before turning her head to look around. ' What..? Argh what happened?' A mild headache ensues.

I get up slowly as certain scenes replay in my head. While in my stupor the woman speaks to me, "I'd like to thank you for keeping my possessions safe though I doubt it was your true intention." She says with a subtle hint of sarcasm.

'Possessions? True inten….' Right there it hit me. The items I stole from her when I first saw her were still in the sack so she must have found them. 'Fuck…that was stupid. Now she won't believe my story.'

"Tal." She calls out to me. I lift my head to look at her.

"I know your village was attacked and you needed a way to survive so I'm not mad at your actions. You helped me when I was injured so I'll return the favour but we have to work together." She says.

I stay quiet, thinking, 'What is she talking about? Village? Work together….' I look down at the snow with a thoughtful face.

'I guess my plan kinda worked…I'm not sure about this village thing but she seems to think that I'm from here. Should I tell her the truth…I mean, I don't think it could be any worse I…' my eye opens wider as I realise something. 'Dammit. She's taken advantage of the situation. I don't know if this is intentional but it seems so. She's smart.'

What I had realised is that my initial plan to take advantage of the situation and have her owe me for saving her had backfired. She knows that I stole from her and she used that to even the score and she's probably the reason I survived whatever happened last night.

With that ruminating in my mind, I think for a while before deciding to do it. "Excuse me." I call out.

She turns to look at me and her red eyes remind me of our first meeting vividly, causing a lump in my throat.

"Ummm….I'm not actually from the village." I say, correcting her.

Her almost mature face made a slight scrunch before she asked, "What do you mean?"

A simple question but just as I wanted. What I said made her confused which would be in my favour to turn things around. She has information and we both have a simple understanding of events that makes her have the upper hand right now but by simply throwing in more variables I can create a whole new situation.

I straighten my back as I sit up in the cold snow. "I'm from the prison, Arkshu…" I simply state.

I see shock appear on her face and I know my plan is working. "I was a prisoner there befor…" The wind suddenly starts to pick up and I look around before I see the woman lean into a weird stance. 'What the….woah….Shit!!!'

"Wait wait let me explain." I hurriedly say, fearing that she may transform on me and attack.

"What's there to explain you're an escaped prisoner. I can't exactly trust you." She responded, lifting her hand to point at me with her palm.

'Fuck fuck.' I quickly stand with my hand in the air. I suddenly remember her name as I try to stop her from attacking.

"Karra, wait. Relax I..l was wrongly accused…I didn't escape I was attacked and…" before I could finish a gust of air pushes against my body before what feels like a solid ball of rotating air hits me right in the chest making me fly back quickly.

I land with a crash a long distance away from where I initially stood. I wheeze in the crater of snow I've made, grabbing my aching chest that swelled with pain.

I see her approach, grabbing her stomach as if soothing it. Unable to say anything I continue staring. Finally here she picks me slightly off the ground with my shirt and punches my right in the face knocking me out.

****

'Urgh. My mouth hurts. Tastes like blood. Cold.'

Opening my eye slowly my senses now register a cold breeze coming from my front side and that's not all.

The woman is standing in front of me looking down making me realise I'm on my knees. I look around to see I'm tied to a tree with a material. 'Is this from my sack?'

"Tal. I think it's time you answer some of my questions." She says.

I look up to see her serious expression. "You said you were a prisoner in Arkshu. How did you escape?"

I'm restrained and at the mercy of this werewolf woman. I have succeeded in changing the situation but it seems that it's still not in my favour.

"Speak!" She orders, the wing picking up in reaction making me flinch. 'What is going on. Is it..' "wind magic?" I ask out loud.

"Yes, I'm an air mage. As a mage yourself you should know the dangers of being at the mercy of one. Now tell me Tal. How did you escape?"

Thinking for a bit I stay quiet.

"Do you really think a child is deserving of such treatment?" I ask, hoping to again change the situation.

"You were a prisoner before, now you're a child?" She says, "Besides, criminals come in all shapes and sizes. You were imprisoned for a reason. Stop trying to.."

"I told you before, I was imprisoned because some dude named Rath Kul got caught. You have to.."

"Wait." She says, interrupting me before she pauses to think.

The silence makes me realise that I had misspoke. ' Damn. I added too much information. She'll think I'm lying.'

"Okay look. I'll tell you what happened but you have to let me go first." I say, trying to compromise. 'I should've done this first.'

"You were arrested last year weren't you." She finally replies.

"Yeah I was. I…how did you know that." I ask, surprised. 'I'm sure I never told her that, how could she…'

"I guess you are right in a way." She says.

'Wait what. What is going on.'

She looks me up and down as if confirming something before asking, "where are you from? Your bornland."

'Born land? What is.. ohhh' "Tressi." I answer.

After a second, the wind finally settles as she approaches me. She goes behind the tree and I hear the material tying me to the tree moving and getting loose.

"You're lucky I read about your case Tal." She says from behind me. "Your human nobles are crude and fearful people.

'What is she talking about?' I feel my body get loose but I stay unmoving, fearing a change in the situation.

"So. Now that I've let you go. Are you going to talk?."

'It seems that I'm still at a loss.' I look at the woman for a second before explaining what exactly led me to getting out of the prison to meeting her…