"Alright boy, the wagon needs a bit of maintenance. We might be here a while"
What exactly was wrong with it? Broken axle? Tired horses? The wagon seemed fine. He didn't say anything — the first step to alerting people that you know they're lying is questions.
He complied and sat on a tree stump some inches away from them. They were still whispering, talking to themselves as if they couldn't see him. The bulky guard had a sword on his waist. He'd noticed it before — they all did — but here, surrounded by nothing but trees and birdsong, it seemed different. Heavier somehow. The light caught the blade and it glistened.
"I need to relieve myself"
The guards didn't even turn back when he spoke, too engrossed in their little gossip session.
When nature called, he still had to answer— even if it was the most important morning of his life.
He walked back, and the guards were louder now, maybe because he wasn't there anymore.
"And you're sure this will work" one of the guards spoke
"Obviously" Another responded "there's not a thing he can do. He's just a boy"
Cassian wanted to believe that they were talking about someone else. Maybe one of their sons, but given the circumstances, he doubted it
"So it's decided, after we kill him, we burn his corpse"
Cassian froze. He heard right, he was sure. Kill him?
No, he didn't hear right.
"Why burn though? It's too much work."
If he didn't hear them before, he was sure he heard them now, and unless there was some other boy in these woods, he needed to run.
He started edging backwards one slow step at a time, then he heard a sound. A twig snapped. There was a silence after.
Cassian held his breath, and so did the forest because nothing moved. Not the trees, or the winds that caused them to sway. There was just stillness. Cassian pleaded with Korvus that the men didn't hear it.
"Boy, is that you?"
He didn't respond. Could he outrun them?
One of the men drew his sword and started towards Cassian.
"Yes." Cassian replied "yes it's me"
The man stopped.
"Well come out here then"
Cassian didn't respond. He started moving back again
"I forgot something in the woods let me just get it quickly"
There was no response from the men. Something flew past his head. He turned his head.
There was an arrow stuck in the tree.
"By korvus, what are you doing Bojack" one of the men asked
"He knows. Must've heard us talking. I told you, you were too loud" Bojack charged towards Cassian, the others followed.
Cassian's heart pounded, like the drums during devotions— fast and loud. His robe kept blocking his legs, almost tripping him. Of all the days to wear one. Only once in his life had he ever run this fast, yet same as last he ran because he wanted to live and because something. Someone. Wanted him dead.
The men after him were soldiers. Men trained to show superior physical prowess in these situations. He couldn't outrun them. His body was already begging him to stop as he jumped over a pit
They were getting closer, he could hear them, stumping behind him. The drum in his chest was getting louder.
Another arrow whooshed past his head. It plunged into a tree beside him. The sun was high enough now that he could see a green liquid dripping from the arrow. Poison?
As if he needed any more confirmation that these men wanted him dead.
Cassian felt his legs start to quiver. He needed rest. But he couldn't stop. He fell, tumbling down a ravine. He felt the pebbles and little rocks rake against his skin, like angry ants tearing into his skin.
By Korvus and all his saints, why him, why now? When he was this close to all he ever dreamed.
The men stopped running. A branch snapped above him. He moved his body slowly, positioning himself right, pressing against the muddy ravine.
He started breathing slowly, in careful, calculated gaps.
The men were getting closer, he had to go now.
He waited for a split second before bolting forward, fast as his legs would allow
"There he is"
He didn't turn to look. A tree caught on his tunic.
Cursed thing.
He managed to break free and keep going until he felt a sharp pain in his right leg. This was different from the scrapes he felt when he crashed into trees. It didn't matter, he had to keep going. One leg in front of the other. Until he was safe. Pain jolted through his legs again, and this time he had to look.
An arrow was stuck in his leg and he wished he hadn't looked. His right leg wouldn't move anymore. There was blood oozing from the hole, mixed with the strange green fluid. It smelled off, like grass mixed with something unholy
He fell to the ground. He clawed at the ground, dragging himself with the parts of his body that still worked. His vision was blurry, something was choking him. His tunic was brown now, same colour as the hilt that bashed into his head. All he saw now was black and the faint taste of iron on his tongue.
Sound came back first. Voices, low and unhurried, like men who had nowhere to be. Then the smell; wet earth and something metallic underneath it. His own blood, he realized.
Then the pain, arriving all at once. His leg. His head. His wrists where something rough bit into his skin.
He kept his eyes closed. Not yet. If they thought he was still unconscious he had a few more seconds to think. Not that thinking was easy. His mind kept slipping, like trying to hold water in cupped hands.
He remembered the arrow. The green fluid. The ground coming up fast.
He opened his eyes.
How long had he been out?
He felt like an animal. Bound from head to toe by not so friendly rope. How ironic.
The bulky guard slung him over his shoulder like baggage. Every time he moved, Cassian felt his leg sting. He couldn't see it, but he was sure they left the arrow in.
There was a sound around him that he couldn't quite place.
"You really are a spawn of Materdea"
What was this man saying? What did he mean?
"Why are you doing this?" He asked, he hoped he'd said the words correctly, his tongue felt heavy, beyond his control.
"Because of your mark boy. We were contemplating making your death painless, but all that running has changed our minds"
Cassian's hands were bound, and so were his feet, and he was sure the poison was already killing him.
He closed his eyes and prayed to Korvus. What else could he possibly do.