บท 5: A Chance Encounter

Soon, sleep took her. The journey was a long and arduous one, spanning multiple days. A total of three carriages were deployed for their envoy. One was for Sierra's comfort, the other two contained gifts for when they met with the King.

Everything was going smoothly, until the fourth day of the journey. They had just entered Drakin's border in the morning. Having made good distance during the day, they decided to stop at an inn to rest. Sierra was forced to remain in a small room while soldiers guarded the door.

"Hmph, they think they can keep me in?" Sierra smirked.

She was a knightess after all. Even without her weapons, she still had the ability to fend for herself. She could take down three enemies at the same time with no issue. Escaping from the room was a piece of cake.

She slipped out through the window of her room and slipped into the forest under the cover of darkness undetected. Sierra knew she did not have much time before they would realize she was missing.

At the very least, she would savor what freedom she had left. Sierra took a stroll in the forest. There was no one around her, no one following her every move. For the first time in a couple of days, she could finally relax a little and let her guard down.

Just then, an arrow shot through the air in her direction. Sierra's reflexes kicked in. She carefully dodged the arrow. As such, the arrow was wedged into the bark of the tree right behind her.

Her heart was palpitating as her breathing quickened. Sierra was instantly hyper-aware of her surroundings. She did not move. Knowing her sense of sight was useless in the dark, she closed her eyes and shifted focus to her other senses.

Her hearing picked up various sounds. First, there was the rustling of leaves. Then, the heavy footsteps of a person, likely running in her direction. Last but not least, labored breathing.

"Someone's injured," she muttered to herself.

Isolating the sound of impending footsteps, Sierra quickly identified where it was coming from. She turned to face that direction. Immediately, she could see a figure running towards her.

Behind the figure, she could see a few lit torches flickering in the distance. As the mysterious figure closed in, Sierra hid behind a tree and waited. With her hearing, she pinpointed the moment the figure passed her.

She grabbed onto them by the shoulder and pushed them down to the ground. Before the person could speak, she covered their mouth with one hand and placed her index finger on her lips; signaling them to keep quiet.

"If you want to live, stay quiet," she whispered to him as softly as she could.

It was a full moon night. As the clouds moved across the sky, moonlight basked down on the land. As it so happened, a beam of moonlight shone upon Sierra and the mysterious figure for just a second.

The light reflected their eyes. Sierra's eyes were a dark shade of purple, while the mysterious figure was dark red. Sierra's long curled black hair cascaded down her shoulders. For just a moment, she widened her eyes, mesmerized by the charming looks of the mysterious stranger.

The young man looked to be just a few years older than her. His chiseled chin and high cheekbones mesmerized her for a few moments. Sierra had seen her fair share of men as a knightess in the army camp.

But none of them could compare to the man beneath her.

The man was trying to speak, but she still had her hand over his mouth. Just then, the flickering torches she had seen from afar closed in. Both Sierra and the man remained still and quiet.

"Do you see him?" an unknown man asked one of his comrades.

"I don't think he came this way."

"Hey! We found the mask over here!"

A mask? Sierra wondered what they were talking about. Whatever it was, it successfully got the attention of the pursuers as they left to search a different area. Neither of them got up until the light from the torches could no longer be seen.

The forest returned to its peaceful silence with only the moonlight from above to light their surroundings. Sierra removed her hand from the man's mouth and heaved a sigh of relief.

"You should be safe now," she whispered to him with a soft smile.

Before she had time to react, the man leaned in close and kissed her on the lips. Sierra wanted to push him away, but he already had his hand around her waist. Her body did not listen to her reasoning. She had never been swept off her feet like this before.

Even when she was with Cedric, she had never let him kiss her. There was something about the man before her, she felt a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart. Her gut told her she could trust him. When they parted lips, the young man smiled.

"Thank you for saving my life, may I know your name?" he asked as he gently caressed her cheek.

Upon coming to terms with what happened, Sierra pushed him away while touching her lips. They kissed! How could she have let that happen?

She continued to glare at him as the gears in her mind continued to process what had just happened. The man furrowed his eyebrows as he placed his hand on her forehead. She slapped his hand away at once.

"What do you think you're doing?" she questioned his intentions sternly.

She did not have a weapon with her but she was still fairly confident she could take him down with ease. She saved him thinking he was the victim but now she was beginning to wonder if he was a criminal.

The man grinned as he folded his arms, "Ah, so you can talk after all. For a moment there I thought you were mute."