The Beast

4.

I groaned as I felt pain in my leg and my head. I was moving, but my legs were still. I opened my eyes and realized I was on a horse. My head was covered with a cloth. I tensed as I realized a presence behind me. An arm was snaked around my waist, holding the reigns. For some reason, I immediately recognized who the person behind me was.

"Where am ... I? Where.. are you t-taking me?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper as the person behind me tensed. I looked up at him over my shoulder, and I immediately looked down as my gaze met his piercing ones.

"You are coming with us! For some reason, Beast here has taken a liking for you!" A chirpy voice came from beside us. I look to see a boy a year or two younger than me riding on his horse as he smiled at me.

"Will ... you k-kill me?" I asked, stuttering in the process. The boys eyes widened at my words, and then he chuckled lightly, but the person behind me only tightened his hold on me.

"If we wanted to kill you, then we wouldn't have brought you with us!" He told me as a matter of fact. And I sighed in relief.

"I am lanky!" He said, and I looked confused at the name. Does someone really have that kind of name? He does look thin, but isn't it rude to call someone lanky?

He chuckled at my expressions and then shrugged as if knowing what I was thinking.

"I didn't have a name until everyone started calling me this, and I stick to it since then," he said, and I felt bad. At least I have a name.

"What's yours?" He asked me with interest. I tensed at his question, but then I thought I didn't have anything to lose. The man behind me moved a little as if he was also waiting for me to say my name.

"Faith!" I said meekly. Lanky smiled at me.

"Your name suits you, pretty girl." he winked at me, and I blushed, which made him chuckle. The man beside me growled at Lanky, who turned serious and looked ahead.

All the way the beast didn't talk to me, lanky also didn't talk. We stopped when a few tents came in view. Beast jumped off of the horse and stepped ahead. Lanky immediately came toward me and helped me down, at which I thanked him. He only smiled in return.

"Stay near me or Beast!" He murmured lightly.

"Where were you? What took you two so long?" A voice came from ahead, but I couldn't see anyone as my body was hidden well behind Beast's large figure. It was evening, which meant I slept throughout the night and half a day.

Lanky stepped ahead and started speaking. His body was tense, and the usual funny aura that he had around him was gone now.

"What is a girl doing with you?" A harsh voice came from beside, and my gaze met with the same men who were slicing the throat of my village people yesterday. I gulped in fear when he made a few steps towards me.

He grabbed me by my arm and pulled me towards him, I closed my eyes in fear, but in a moment, I was pulled aside from him and was placed behind someone. I opened my eyes to see a large back in front of me. Both beast and that men were in a staring match. None of them looked away.

"Stop you two!" The old man ordered, and both of them looked away but not before glaring each other one last time.

"What's the meaning of all this beast?" The old man asked beast who, in return, said something by his hand. I gasped when I realized he couldn't speak. He was using sign language. The old man sighed in return before looking at me.