Intruders

IntrudersShe was sweeping the floor when she heard them: voices. Deep, masculine, familiar in tone if not in actual voice. Ice ran down her spine, but she didn’t go rushing to the window as much as she wanted to, instead fleeing to the back of the cabin, behind the worktable, and sliding to the ground so that if anyone looked in they wouldn’t see her.Boots stomping heavily as they climbed the stairs and trod across the porch. The rub of gloves on glass as someone peered through the window. Voices, too muffled to hear clearly. Then someone hammered on the door, calling out a greeting in a voice so painfully cheerful that Lily shuddered.She looked at the door, then at the knot in the wood that would open the hideaway. The idea of hiding away was more repulsive than ever. She was already hiding in the woods, after having to run away.But as much as she hated it, she wasn’t a fighter, and even if she was, she wouldn’t fare well against experienced mercenaries who were also wolves. Scout, maybe, she seemed tough enough for that, but she wasn’t there.So Lily pushed down all her misery and pushed the knot in the wood that opened the secret door. The was a short ladder that she swung down onto, and once on it, she saw there was a leather strap to pull the door shut again.Locking her in complete darkness. She should have lit a lamp or something before closing the door, but oh well, too late now. Reaching the bottom, she used the weak light coming through the slits in the floor planks. Thankfully, that was just enough to keep her from tripping over herself, and she did indeed find a dusty lamp that proved easy enough to light with the box of matches right beside it.There was a narrow bed, crates of preserved foods, even a small barrel that was probably filled with water. More exploring of the small space revealed a tiny room clearly meant as a rough sort of washroom.Sighing softly, she sat on the bed—and then jumped right up at a hard, cracking sound, followed by a resounding thud. The door. They’d broken down the door. Oh, gods. If she hadn’t retreated when she had…Lily drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, trembling despite her efforts not to let fear get the better of her.Until she heard the one sound she’d hope not to: claws clacking on the wooden floor.  Wolves."I can smell her," said a voice. "She was here, and recently. Smell something else too, familiar, but I can’t place it.""Village rumor says an old knight lives here," another voice said. "Woman they call Scout. Woodcutter or some such.""Certainly enough wood outside for that to be true," the first voice said with a snort. "I don’t care about some washed-up knight probably getting drunk at the local pub. The princess was here…no…she is here."Lily pulled herself into an even tighter ball. No, no, no, please no. She was supposed to be safe here. They wouldn’t find her, they wouldn’t.The wolf growled, low and mean, the sound vibrating in her chest. She looked up as the sound of its steps drew closer, breath sticking in her throat as it stood right on the secret trapdoor. It let out a long, mean snarl, and the two men chuckled just as meanly in reply. "I see." The wolf moved out of the way, and then something heavy slammed down on the floor. A mallet. They had a damned mallet.Getting up, Lily moved to the little washroom. Maybe if they didn’t see her when they looked down, they’d decide she wasn’t there and look elsewhere. Please, please, please.The wood shattered just moments after she retreated, the pieces clattering down to land on the floor and the bed where she’d just been sitting. A man jumped down, landing deftly on his feet like a cat, eyes sweeping—and halting as he saw her, a grin that made her want to throw up overtaking his face.He moved with a burst of speed that made her scream despite himself, grabbing her arm and yanking, then throwing her over his shoulder and leaping right out of the hidden room as though it was a jump of mere steps instead of more than his whole height.The wolf and the other man made noises of amusement as they saw her. "Hiding away with a woodcutter, how very pathetic. Too bad your little woodcutter wasn’t here for us to snack on first, little princess.""I am queen," Lily replied coldly."Nah, you’re just a little princess about to lose her head," the man holding her said, patting her ass as he did so. Oh, he was going to pay for that. "Let’s go, boys. Our handsome reward awaits.""Wouldn’t mind if she was the reward," the other man said, and if he got any closer to her she would throw up right in his face.The man holding her gave another mean laugh, and her blood turned to ice as he said, "You can always ask. Doubt he’ll say no. But for now she remains unharmed; he wants her nice and pretty for her public execution."Outside, she could hear horses waiting, but couldn’t turn her head enough to see them. All she wanted to do was scream and cry, but that wouldn’t help her right now. She needed to bide her time, wait for a chance to flee. Damn it, where was Scout when Lily needed her?Except she wasn’t really Scout’s problem. Scout had kindly taken her on, was helping her, but once Lily was gone was there any reason to continue being troubled by something far beyond the life of a woodcutter? She’d probably be relieved this whole mess was out of her hair.Why did that thought hurt so much? She didn’t even like Scout, who was so bossy and always laughing at her and thought she was helpless. Who was also kind and gentle and a had a wry humor that Lily admired.Instead of putting her down so she could mount one of the horses, the stupid bastard carrying her simply swung up into the saddle with her still draped over his shoulder, arm heavy and painfully tight around her legs. This ride was going to knock her teeth right out of her head, if it didn’t simply snap her neck.They’d just swung around to ride off toward presumably the palace when a roar like nothing Lily had ever heard filled the forest, echoing through it like a clap of thunder."What in the fuck was that?" demanded the second man, as the wolf with them growled, its hackles going up as it moved to stand in front of the other two. The second man drew his sword, though even Lily knew that using a straight sword from horseback wasn’t nearly as effective as a curved blade like a saber or cutlass would be. A sharp edge was a sharp edge, though.That roar came again, and then there was movement in the far tree line; wolf and men watched it closely, turning to face it head on and unfortunately ripping Lily’s view of anything useful away.Everything went still, quiet, fraught with a tension just waiting to snap—and then suddenly the wolf was down with a high-pitched yelp, taken from the side, and a second yelp cut off as it met what sounded like a grisly end. Lily went flying, landing awkwardly on the ground, pain shooting up her left arm, but she only scrambled to her feet, using a tree for support, and hobbled out of the way of the sudden violence.Scout. It was Scout. As Lily gaped, she grabbed the man who’d been holding her by the leg and dragged him for his horse like he weighed nothing, like he was a rag doll made of cheap cloth and stuffed with straw.She turned away as Scout removed his head. The second man was already fleeing, but Scout drew back her arm and threw something, and the man went tumbling from his horse into the underbrush, the horse never pausing as it kept going. Panting, Scout went after the man, and after a moment reappeared dragging him just as easily as she’d dragged the other one. She tied him to a tree, then wiped sweat from her brow and swept her angry gaze over the forest.Some of the anger drained away, replaced by relief, as she saw Lily. "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?" Before Lily could reply, Scout closed the distance between them and swept her up into a tight embrace. The movement and pressure jarred her arm, but Lily didn’t give a damn. She’d never felt safer in her life than she did right then, surrounded by Scout, her warm arms and the scent of the forest that always clung to her, the combination of strong and gentle as she held Lily close. "I’m so sorry you didn’t stay safe.""It wasn’t your fault," Lily said. "You came just in time. One of them wanted—wanted me as payment. The other one smacked my ass, so…thank you, Scout." She drew back. "I know I’m not your problem, and that you’d probably like to never see me again, but—""Shush," Scout said, and to Lily’s complete astonishment kissed her temple. It was soft, fleeting, like the brush of a butterfly’s wing, but a kiss all the same. "Stay here while I deal with the little cretin who is now going to die a much nastier death than I already had planned."Lily could bring herself to feel sorry for the man. What he’d wanted to do to her, he’d probably already done to other women. Whatever horrible death he got, it still wouldn’t be horrible enough.Needing something to do, she went to the horse of the man who’d been holding her, calming it down, stroking its nose and talking quietly. Once the horse was settled, she riffled through the saddlebags. Just as she began, though, hands on what was probably a sack of travel mix, the man’s cold voice cut through her, mostly because all it sounded now was scared, beneath a thin attempt at blustering bravery."Who the fuck do you think are?" the man spat.Scout crouched down in front of him, though well out of range of any kick he might try to land. "Who I am is of no concern to you. What I want to know is why disgraced Rothenberg are aligning themselves with greedy, warmongering backstabbers. Well, the backstabbing isn’t really a mystery. Rothenberg always had a natural instinct for it.""That’s what I smelled," the man snarled, jerking uselessly against his ropes, practically snarling and spitting in his fury. "You’re the bitch! The backstabbing bitch who killed our Alpha! You! I’ll fucking rip your head off your shoulders."Lily gasped, dropping the bag of travel mix, which burst open and scattered across the forest floor, eyes wide as she stared at Scout, whose face had closed off as she met Lily’s gaze. "You—you’re one of them. You’re a wolf.""Not just a wolf," the man said with a mean laugh as Scout’s expression turned bleak. "She’s Lady Farahild Rothenberg, daughter of Alpha Alban Rothenberg, whom she heartlessly killed one night before running away like a coward in the night.""My father was an abusive drunk who never got over the fact he was denied a wild mage he decided belonged to him. He beat my mother to death, and I wasn’t going to let him do the same to me. The whole lot of you deserve the same death he got, and if I could have managed it I would have. I haven’t been a Rothenberg in a long time. I haven’t been a knight in a long time either. I’m just a woodcutter, and you are going to tell me everything I want to know or I’ll simply leave you here for the forest denizens to devour at their leisure."Lily swayed, then sank slowly to the forest floor, mind spinning, heart racing, holding a hand to her throat as if that would help anything. Scout…Scout was a wolf. The same kind of wolf as those that had murdered her father, her friends, who were helping that nasty little backstabber subjugate her people.She barely noticed as Scout questioned the man. She barely even noticed his anger, his screams, as anger and fear turned to exhaustion and the world dulled further. The travel mix lay scattered around her, a few bolder birds and critters coming to take away the best bits of it. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly cold, but she couldn’t seem to make herself move to actually fix the problem.Scout. Her Scout. Was a wolf. The thought wouldn’t stop beating around the inside of her skull. She was so tired.A hand fell on her shoulder, and Lily shrieked in surprise, reeling back. She stared wide-eyed at Scout. "Are you really—really—"Looking sad, Scout turned her head to stare out over the forest. "Yes, Your Majesty. I am a wolf—a wolf of the Highlands, formerly of Pack Rothenberg. Should I ever return to Highland territory, my life is forfeit. I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to deceive you or anything. It’s my past, and I don’t like to bring my past up, and I knew you’d hate me for it the moment you told me about the invaders in your palace."I knew you’d hate me. The words penetrated the fog, the panic, Lily’s breath hitching. "I don’t—I can’t—I could never hate you, I’m just…" She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes in a futile effort to bank the useless tears. "Everything has been so much and I wasn’t expecting—"She froze as suddenly Scout embraced her, but she was just as warm and comforting as before, and Lily could no longer hold back the tears, sobbing against Scout’s shoulder as she held fast.How long she cried, she didn’t know, succumbing to the heavy weight of exhaustion soon after, barely aware as she was swept up and carried off.