Woot! Fourth chapter! X3 So excited! Please keep the feedback rolling, I'd love to hear what you all think of Mercia. Let me know if there's any questions you guys have. I'm more than happy to answer anything you guys want! So here's an extra long chapter for all of you! Enjoy!
It took less than an hour of traversing the forest before Amy determined that she loved the forest.
True it was hot, it was the tail end of summer, but there was constantly a fresh breeze blowing through the trees. It cooled her face even as she hiked for several hours through the forest and seemed to blow all negative thoughts out of her mind. There were multiple streams she passed by and she always stopped at each one for a break, regardless of how often she found one. She would fill her water bottle and on the third stream she stopped for a break and ate her peanut butter and jelly sandwich that she had packed for the trip. She ate the sandwich sitting on a thick yet oddly mossy patch of grass near the base of the tree. As she ate, she forced herself to think about the journey ahead of her, rather than the friends she'd left behind.
"The trees are all deciduous instead of ever-greens. I wonder why that is?" Amy thought to herself, "NICOLE would know..."
"The map says the nearest town is about a half an hour's hike away from me yet. I need to keep heading south-east in order to make it to there before I can start following the roads to the capitol city. Thank you Rotor for the compass you gave me."
"It's a good thing I brought some money," she thought to herself, "If I have to I can stop at an inn for a place to rest. Didn't Antoine used to live in Mercia?"
"The stream is so nice and calm. If I'd remembered to bring my bathing suit, I would have gone for a swim! Big and Cream would have loved that."
"This breeze feels so soothing. Sonic would have loved this place."
Amy growled in frustration before taking her last bite of her sandwich, "Maybe I'll take a few swings with my hammer. I bet Tails and Bunnie would have sparred with me."
Amy let out a shriek of indignation at that last thought, "Fine maybe I will!"
She folded up her map haphazardly before stuffing it into her bag again. Amy then shoved the compass into her pocket and began her warm-up.
"Ugh, what I wouldn't give for a little music," she thought to herself as she stretched herself out, "It's so quiet out here."
That thought gave Amy pause. It was true, the forest was totally quiet. No birds, no other little furry creatures that normally inhabited the forest, nothing. Just the stream and the breeze. She couldn't even remember how long it had been like that. Was the forest naturally so quiet?
The snap of a branch to her left told her that, no, such a thing was not normal, regardless of the forest.
"Who's there?" Amy called out in warning, her ears twitching around for some other sound. Nothing moved, however, and no matter how hard Amy looked into the trees, she found nothing. Amy growled in frustration before summoning her hammer. She smirked proudly for a moment, imagining her spies gasping in surprise. She then began going through her exercises, first doing chest level swings and stopping abruptly at a specific spot. She did the same thing with high swings to the ground, stopping before she actually hit the ground, and low swings going up and swinging her hammer back around for a chest level swing then stopping. She continued this for ten minutes, trying to listen for any other movement as she was doing so. When she heard nothing, she sprouted something of an evil grin before jumping quickly forward and slamming her hammer into the nearest tree. The weight of the hammer shook the tree violently. It was enough force for someone to come crashing out of the tree and fall to the ground with an 'oomph' directly in front of Amy.
He was a young auburn badger with a wild black tuft of hair on his head. He looked to be no more than 10 years old, if that. What gave Amy slight pause (and vindication, she hadn't been going crazy) was that the kid wore a muddy brown tunic with multi-colored patches on it to match the changing colors of the trees and a rope belt around his waist that was fraying and dirty on the ends. He was poor and he looked hungry. But more than that he looked angry and determined when he faced Amy with deep brown eyes.
"M... Merry men! Git to the treasure!"
Suddenly there were five other children of about the same age as the first boy that burst out of the trees. Amy didn't get a good enough look at them, because before she knew it three had her surrounded and the badger and a beaver child had gone around her and towards her travel pack.
"Oh no you don't!" she cried out, giving a small back flip over the sparrow girl behind her and cutting off the two boys in front of her pack. She quickly put the backpack on before assessing the situation again.
"I don't want to hurt them, they're just kids!" She thought to herself, "They're thieves, but they're kids."
"Alright kiddies, play time is over!" Amy exclaimed and slammed her hammer to the ground, shaking it and the children, "I don't need any trouble with you. I just want to get to Spring Crest. No one needs to get hurt."
Several kids eyed her in fear but the badger, presumably the leader gave as mighty a laugh as he could manage, "Ye bassa! Yer in our turf now! Now pay yer... uh...yer..."
The beaver beside the badger piped up in a whispering voice, "Tribute? Toll? Dues?"
The badger shook his head, "Whatever! Yer loot. Give us yer loot or go toe to toe with Rob o'the Woods!"
Amy looked on in slight confusion. She was prepared for a different dialect, hell even a different language, but she wasn't quite prepared for this.
"So... you're trying to rob me?"
"We steal from the rich and give to the poor!" the sparrow piped up, "To save us from King Liam's taxes!"
"And ye'll hand your treasure over, no problems," the beaver smirked, "Or ye'll face us Merry Men."
"And ladies!" one of the other girls, a little white hedgehog piped up.
Amy frowned at this. Apparently her uncle wasn't that popular around here, King or otherwise. But maybe...
"Bassa, huh?" Amy said cautiously leaning on her hammer, "Where I'm from I'm something of a Merry Man too. We call them Freedom Fighters."
Apparently, the legend of the Freedom Fighters had spread even to here because all of the children save the badger gave a gasp and an excited smile.
"Yer a Freedom Fighter?"
"Do ya know Sonic? He's so cool and blue!"
"Do ya know Princess Sally? She's so pretty and smart!"
"I want to meet..."
"SHE'S LYING!" the badger cried out, "Have ye dobbers ever heard of the legends of the pink hedgehog? There's no such story now is there?"
The kids seemed to deflate, and even looked betrayed at Amy. Despite the hurt looks Amy couldn't help but feel a little betrayed herself.
"Geez, no stories about Amy Rose?" she murmured to herself, "That's pretty lame..."
Suddenly the faces went dark and a growl actually came out of the badger, "I knew it. Ye're a stinkin' noble! Yer a greedy little coward! Ye couldn't be friends with Sonic the Hedgehog! Take the loot!"
A cry erupted from the children and she was surrounded once more. Despite their age, Amy was ready to defend herself when the badger actually flashed a knife. Amy focused completely on him, taking swings here and there to give herself space. But the badger dodged under her swing and stabbed at Amy's side. She tried to dodge but felt the bite of the knife in her side. It burned and she could feel the blood begin to seep through her clothing. When she tried to cover her side, the boy quickly dove for her other side, when Amy kicked out and got him in the face. She was beyond livid at this point, but so were the other children. The sparrow girl picked up the knife actually threw the knife at Amy's other side. Amy twisted to the side quickly enough for the knife to slice through her other strap rather than her side again. The backpack fell to the floor with a thump and the beaver and hedgehog got to the bag and carried it between the two of them. The badger then gave Amy a maniacal laugh.
"Thank ye for the donation, m'lady!" he sneered as he gave a mock bow and ran back out through the forest, his nose bled but his chest swelled in pride. Amy threw her hammer in response but by the time the hammer reached him he and his friends had disappeared into the forest.
Amy gave a guttural growl in defeat. Part of her was glad she wasn't traveling with her friends for them to see what had happened to her in the first few hours of being in the forest alone. Part of her also recognized that if she'd taken at least one of her friends she wouldn't have been in that mess to begin with. She shook her head and looked to the cut on her side. It wasn't bleeding very badly, but it was enough to stain her dress and stung with every breath. She gave a sigh and looked around for a sharp rock to cut into her dress.
What she found was the same knife she'd been cut with. When she picked it up, it felt light in her hands and the blade was deeply polished. Amy also found something engraved on the side rather beautifully, "Give all the rights you claim for yourself."
Amy pondered this a moment before taking the knife to the hem of her dress. She found it was perfectly sharp. She then took the hem and looked around her. She felt no other presence in the woods, so she lifted her dress over her head and wrapped the fabric quickly around her waist. She put her dress back on just as quickly and took her compass out of her pocket.
"I lost the map," she told the compass, "but at least they didn't take you. Maybe they'll be more sympathetic in the village. At the very least I'll trade the knife in for some money. That'll teach that little brat!"
When she opened the compass and realized that south-east was the direction the children had gone. Amy gave a small smirk. If she faced those kids again she wasn't going to go easy on them anymore. She was a Freedom Fighter and these kids would know it!
With that in mind, Amy began her journey once more, with the thought of beating those kids into paste for all the trouble they'd caused her.
...
Amy was slightly disappointed when she didn't run into the kids again. Granted the sun was just beginning to set when she finally made it to Spring Crest, so they would probably be on their way back to their homes. Regardless, Amy gave a little sigh and began to walk to the town center. She was met with stares, both wary and curious on the way in. When she looked back at the townsfolk she wasn't all that surprised at their staring. Their clothes were every bit as patched and old as the children's were. However, they covered quite a bit more skin and fur than Amy's meager dress did. Some of the men even had the audacity to give her a little wink and a smirk. A shiver crawled up Amy's spine, but she kept her determined route towards the center, where she hoped she would find a marketplace.
What she found was small, but it would do for her needs. In the very center of the town was an old well, where several young ladies were conversing before they began staring at Amy. The marketplace, if Amy could call it that, was in the form of a large ring around the well, where there were three stalls each selling food, jewelry, or toys. Amy instead went to one of the bigger store fronts with a sign depicting a hammer and anvil. Amy figured if she was going to get the best deal on the knife she would get it from the blacksmith.
As she walked into the blacksmith's shop, the temperature went from a slightly warm summer day to almost unbearably hot. She heard the clang of metal on metal in the background and felt the drag of the heat through every pore on her body. Looking around, Amy could see a simple counter that was clean with a piece of paper and a quill pen sitting on the corner. The counter separated the two sides of the room, one a little waiting area for customers and the other side a showing area for some of the pieces the blacksmith had to offer. The second side of the room had the walls lined with swords, pick axes, knives for cooking and hunting, and shovels. It also had a huge forge against the back right corner of the room, a trough of water beside it and an anvil in front where Amy could see a slightly imposing figure hammering away at something. Amy looked to the left most corner of the second half and realized there was a staircase there.
"They probably live just upstairs," Amy thought to herself while patiently waiting for the person to be done. She didn't know a lot about being a blacksmith but she understood enough about metal that the pounding was time sensitive.
Apparently the blacksmith heard Amy even over their own pounding and called back in a surprisingly high pitched and musical voice, "I'll be right with ya! Let me just finish this and I'll help ye out!"
Amy couldn't help but feel surprised at the accent. It was a bit different from the accent of the boy in the forest. The lilt was harsher in the blacksmith's voice with more emphasis on the vowels. She was also rather surprised that the accent was so different from what she'd been expecting.
"What did I expect?" she asked herself before instantly thinking of Antoine, "I wonder why everyone's accent is so different from his? Is he maybe from a different part of Mercia?"
Amy's thought process ended with a sharp hiss and several thumping footsteps. She looked back towards the blacksmith and saw her enough to get basic features.
She was a badger, and her coloring was almost exactly like that of the boy in the forest.
"Oh boy," Amy thought to herself as she plastered on what she hoped was a friendly looking smile.
The blacksmith regarded Amy in the same way. Her hazel eyes took in Amy's form and while her lips twitched slightly, she said nothing about Amy's state of dress. She wore a simple navy blue dress with a black smock over it. Even with the smock she was covered head to toe in soot.
"What can I do for ya, dear?" she asked politely.
Amy wasted no time. She pulled out the knife from her pocket and looked the blacksmith in the eye, "I'd like to trade this in for some money, please. I was robbed in the forest today and the thieves took my clothes, food, and map. They left this behind though."
The blacksmith froze a moment before her mask fell and her face shifted between pity, fear, and finally anger.
"BARTHOLOMEW!"
The cry rang throughout the house and Amy was almost positive the rest of the square heard it, because she heard some passerby snickering about how that boy was going to get it this time. She then heard the distinct sound of pounding footsteps above her making their way to the stairs. Soon she was looking in the face of the leader of her attackers. His face went from mild concern, to recognition, surprise, and finally to fear, before he actually tried to quietly turn around.
"Ye take one step up those stairs laddy, and I'll make you regret having me chase ye around the damn shop. Now get yer sorry bum down here and explain this te me!"
Amy watched in cold satisfaction as the boy slowly turned around, as though he were being held at gun point. His face was murderous at Amy, and she could help but smile and stick her tongue out.
"You reap what you sow, brat!" she thought with glee.
The blacksmith had taken the knife from Amy at this point and slammed it pointed side down into the counter.
"Mind tellin' me what yer father's knife is doing with this young lady?" the Blacksmith asked sweetly but firmly, "And you best mind yer answer because she has quite a story to tell. I hope yours is just as good."
The boy was silent for a moment before he mumbled something.
"What was that, son, we can't hear ye."
"She stole it."
Amy almost exploded in outrage and indignity before the mother burst out laughing. It wasn't amused in the least. It was cold and maniacal, worse than anything Eggman himself could belt out. It stopped Amy cold in her tracks.
"Oh I see. Clever wench, she is," she said with a razor sharp smile, "Yes, I can tell she stole it because she stabbed herself in the side with it after she smacked ya in the face? Is that where the bloody nose came from? Because earlier you told me it was from little Anna tripping you up in the forest for teasing her. Now which time were ye lying now or before?"
The boy seemed to break out in a cold sweat but before he could answer his mother continued her tirade.
"And that thing you said you found in the forest? That busted up bag? If we opened it now, am I going te find women's clothes in there? Maybe a bite te eat and a map?"
The boy hung his head but it wasn't in shame. He was angry and afraid at having been caught, "It's hers."
The woman stared at her son for a few moments before she quietly murmured, "Boy, ye've got ten seconds to get that bag back downstairs for me te fix up before I fix you. 10!"
Bartholomew took off at a sprint, scrambling back up the stairs as his mother continued to count down. She got all the way down to three before they heard the boy scrambling again back down the stairs. He made it just in time for his mother to reach one before he shoved the pack into her hands.
"There we are, was that so hard?" The badger woman grinned, "Now bring me two stools and set them up so we can discuss your punishment. Then yer to sit at the table upstairs until I come te get'cha. If ye aren't there when I come upstairs, we'll have ourselves a grand old hide and seek game. Understand?"
The boy nodded sullenly before turning to grab the stools. He then angrily started dragging them across the floor before his mother called out, "Sweetums, we have company. Don't mess with our pretty floors and pick them up proper."
The boy almost grumbled before correcting himself and letting go of one of the stools to pick one up. He then set it gently down before his mother before turning. His mother had other ideas.
"Now where's your manners, Barty? The guest needs her chair first."
Bartholomew clenched his fists before turning again and picking the chair up once more. He stomped around the counter and back to Amy before slamming the stool down. Just as he turned around Amy gave a sweet smile and murmured, "Thank you."
This stopped the boy dead in his tracks and he seemed about to turn and give Amy a peace of his mind before he heard his mother clear her throat. Bartholomew shot his mother a look but it withered and died in the face of the glare she was giving him. He growled in frustration before turning back to Amy and grounding out, "Yer welcome."
Amy couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the boy. Only a bit, considering he had hurt and robbed her, but the sympathy was still there.
Finally Bartholomew had gently set down the stool for his mother and was turning to go up the stairs when she sat and cleared her throat one more time.
"Barty... one more thing."
He visibly flinched before he turned around, an ugly mix of fear and loathing on his face, "Yes mother?"
"You need to apologize to our guest," she said lightly, but the edge in her voice was still there, "Or did you forget that you wronged the girl?"
That seemed a bit too much for Bartholomew because he cried out in protest, "BUT SHE DESERVED IT!"
"Oh really young man?" the woman got up imposingly, her voice rising dangerously to meet her son's volume, "And tell me what this damnable villain did to ye that she deserved a shiv to her side and all her things stolen from her very back? Because she's a foreigner? Because she dresses and speaks differently? WHY BOY?"
"SHE'S A ROSE, MA!" Bartholomew bellowed, "She's a stinkin' noble and she's a coward and a liar and..."
"You shut yer damn trap and git yer sorry bum upstairs, lad," his mother said lowly. Despite her quiet voice, her visage was that of darkness and pain to come, "Before I set ye there meself."
Bartholomew seemed about to say something else, like he felt his mother had betrayed him by not understanding his reasons. Instead he shook his head and bolted back upstairs.
The mother took a moment before she sat back down. She immediately pulled out a thick spool of thread and a needle from under the counter and picked up the backpack.
"Ya best be careful who you tell that to from now on lass," she said with an uneasy smile, "If the nobles hear you've been impersonating royalty it'll get ugly pretty quickly."
Amy wasn't sure she could take the bait here. True, it was clear that no one seemed to like her uncle or the nobility in general. It would be advantageous to lie and say she wasn't the King's niece. Still, she knew that she couldn't really lie to the woman. Especially if the kid, or worse, someone outside heard she was impersonating royalty she would probably get into even bigger trouble with the guards.
Besides, it was always better to be honest.
"I'm actually am, believe it or not," Amy said with an equally uneasy smile, "I've been living abroad in the Acorn Kingdom but I was asked to come back and see the king. I'm not sure what for, but I'm pretty sure it's important."
This didn't seem to help the badger any. If anything it made her clutch the pack more and shake a bit. Finally her eyes fell and she began to work on the bag.
"I-I see. Please forgive my son's rudeness m'lady," she said in a low simpering tone, "I'll be makin' sure he doesn't make that mistake again. And he won't be getting that knife until he's married."
Amy was a bit shocked by her sudden change in tone. She realized the woman's hazel eyes shifted, even as she worked on the bag. She even seemed to tremble a bit, when Amy didn't speak. She was beginning to regret being honest.
"He'll be okay," Amy said finally, "I think he was just sad that he thought I lied about being a Freedom Fighter. Not that that excuses highway robbery but I'm pretty sure that's where the liar and coward thing came from. Sometimes even I can't believe I'm with the Freedom Fighters."
The woman furrowed her brows but said nothing beyond, "I see."
Amy couldn't help but feel that she was the one in trouble now. She'd heard of the king's taxes but she honestly didn't know how bad they were, much less how much it affected people. King Max's taxes weren't particularly high but she'd never heard of anyone shooting a fearful look like that at him or Sally.
"Not unless they did something worth being afraid for," she thought with chagrin.
After several moments in silence Amy decided she'd finally had enough, "I'm Amy, by the way. Amy Rose. What's your name?"
"Martha," the woman answered immediately, "Martha Harte."
Amy nodded but was met with more silence. Martha didn't seem to tremble as much anymore but her mouth began to work as though something was bothering her. Eventually she was done with the first strap and moved onto the second. The silence permeated the room and made Amy that much more uncomfortable. Finally she decided she'd had enough and tried again.
"The knife you had," Amy commented, "With the inscription on it. I like the saying on there. And the engraving is very pretty. Did you do that?"
Martha seemed to pause at that, "A...aye m'lady. When my late husband asked me te marry him. I made and gave him that knife as a wedding present."
"Where did the saying come from?" Amy asked, "It sounds like something my friend, Sally, would say. Maybe Sonic, but Sonic's not a guy for pretty words you know..."
"Most men aren't... m'lady,"
Amy smiled, she was starting to relax a bit more, "Just Amy, please? Ya, I'm a noble, I guess, but I'm really not that stuck up."
This brought a pause to Martha's movements before she sighed and looked Amy in the eyes.
"Ye really are a foreigner, aren't ye?"
Amy nodded, "I'm just trying to find some answers. Apparently I'm related to the king, but I don't really know how close we used to be. I don't even have any memories of anyone from my family. But the way his letters sounded it seemed like he was close, maybe..."
Martha regarded her a moment before turning back to her work, "That explains quite a bit actually. May I speak freely with you, Lady Amy?"
Amy smiled, "If you stop calling me m'lady or lady."
Amy lost that smile the moment Martha looked her in the eyes again. This time there was less fear and more of the hardness that she'd had when speaking to her son.
"Then listen, because I can only say this once and I can't imagine anyone givin' ya this lesson fer free without ye getting a few more wounds, or worse. The way things work... wherever yer from, don't apply here in Mercia.
"If what ye say is true about bein' in the Freedom Fighters, then yer used to workin' close with yer nobles and even yer royals. That's cute and apparently it works well, but our nobles here don't want to be seen with the likes of me or me son. There is a definite line between the common people and the nobles who lead them, and all the nobles want that to be seen clear as crystal. If anyone saw you like that, knew ye were robbed by me son and ye were common, that's one thing. I would be allowed to teach my son the lesson he needs to learn and if he did it again, I'd wash my hands of the matter and let the local guard deal with it. Reggie is the local guard captain. He's a good sort and would treat my son the way he needed to be to teach him the lesson if I can't.
"But yer not common. Yer a noble, whether ye like it or not. Yer of royal blood and if anyone else nearabouts knew that little nugget, my son would be strung up on the noose tomorrow morning for the insult he payed ye. The captain wouldn't have a choice, I wouldn't have a choice, and my son would be dead for what he did to ye.
"Now we're lucky, 'cause the other children were involved, so the other parent's will keep their holes shut about it at least. But if a noble had heard, especially one trying to get in favor of the King for 'bringing justice to a poor noble maiden like yerself against a heartless brigand'? My son would be gone and I'd have to watch the last most precious thing in my life get taken from me.
"Do ye understand now, m'lady?" Martha finished, "Why I can't call ye by yer first name? Why I can't treat you like a commoner even if ye were raised one? The moment someone finds out yer related to the King, that's all that will matter. And everythin' will fall into place accordingly."
Amy shook with a silent rage but nodded her understanding, "That sounds terrible."
Martha paused a moment before she snapped the thread with her teeth, "It's the way of the world m'lady. No one said it were fair."
She then handed the backpack to Amy and added, "If ye don't like it, I would suggest keeping the fact that yer a Rose te yerself."
Amy gingerly grabbed the backpack and nodded with a curt 'thanks'. She then shouldered the bag and asked, "Do you know if there's an inn nearby or something?"
Martha nodded, "Follow the road south fer about a mile. Ye'll hit the Dove and Turtle inn on the left of the road. They'll set ye up nicely."
"Thank you," Amy said, "For everything."
"My pleasure," Martha said curtly, "But be prepared. Bandits roam that road. You'll want to get to the inn quickly before the sun sets or ye'll be a sittin' duck."
Amy thanked her once more and said goodbye. She turned and left the blacksmiths, blinking to adjust to the light now shining in her face. It was sunset already, and Amy's side was really starting to feel sore.
"Just wait," she told herself as she made a left to the south, "I'll have a bath soon! With a chance at clean clothes and a clean bed too."
"I'll need to change my bandages soon too," she thought, "But it's only a mile down the road, it should only take me 15 minutes tops. I should be fine!"
But even as Amy walked past the town square and back into the woods on the path, she couldn't help but feel more eyes on her.
...
Amy rolled her eyes in aggravation. She had been walking not even ten minutes, when she heard the sound of wood snapping again.
"OK seriously? You guys aren't even trying anymore!" she called out, "If you want to get in more trouble with your parents, fine by me; but I'm not going easy on you this time!"
She gave pause, however, when instead of silence she heard dark, distinctly adult chuckling.
"She's a feisty one, ain't she, Hovis?"
Amy paled, but widened her stance and tightened her hold on her backpack.
"Oh, that she is, Gavin. That she is."
Amy growled when she saw that she was surrounded by four men. Two beavers, one forest green and one navy blue, a yellow woodchuck, and a rat. The rat had been the second one to speak, with his protruding yellow teeth and steely grey fur. His clothes were a torn and simple green tunic with no patches and he wore brown pants beneath with no shoes. His green eyes danced with mirth and horrible intentions when Amy met them. They were meant to make Amy shiver in fear; if not his eyes then at least his men.
All she wanted to do was bash them all upside the head and walk away.
Amy gave a threatening smile of her own, "I'm guessing you're Hovis?"
This seemed to surprise the others around Hovis, but the rat simply laughed, "Oh aye, Hovis Misttail. But you may call me Hovis, m'lady. And we be simple merry men in the army of Rob o'the Woods, asking for a humble donation from a fair maiden."
Amy rolled her eyes, "Look. I already dealt with the last bunch of your 'merry men'. I've made my donation so just buzz off!"
Hovis gave a cruel laugh and held out his hand, "Lass... this ain't a request. Hand over yer goods; or we take'em... all of em..."
He eyed her up and down and this time Amy shivered. But rather than handing her things over she gave a snarl and summoned her hammer. She didn't even wait for someone to move this time. Instead she lunged straight for the biggest man, the yellow woodchuck to her right. His brown eyes widened in shock and he barely had time to cock his arm back before Amy was on him. She gave a great shriek and heaved her hammer up and uppercut the woodchuck. The guy actually launched in the air with the force of her blow. When he fell to the floor, he could only manage a pained groan before he was out like a light.
The two beavers and Hovis looked on in shock at their fallen friend. It was their turn to flinch in fear when Amy turned, fire in her emerald eyes, taking deep heaving breaths, not in fatigue but in anger. Her side was starting to bleed again, but she didn't feel a thing.
"I've been robbed already," she ground out, "Ever since I came to Mercia it's been nothing but archaic stupidity and selfish bullshit. So here's what you're going to do. You're gonna walk away. Slowly. Or I'm going to knock every. Single. One of you out like a freaking LIGHT!"
The beavers seemed to shake for a moment before they gulped and looked to Hovis. The rat was shocked and shaking as well but took a deep breath and glared at the beavers beside him, "What the hell are ye waitin' fer. TAKE HER DOWN!"
Their eyes widened but the beavers nodded and ganged up on Amy, tanned and muscled arms up to grab her. Amy would have none of this and dove to her right around one of the beavers and quickly swinging her hammer around to knee level. They heard a sickening crack of the kneecap going out before the blue beaver was down, rolling on the dirt path in agony.
But Amy wasn't done yet. When the green beaver realized what she had done, he gave an enraged growl and came bowling after her. She charged forward to meet him. She jumped onto the stomach of his fallen friend and flipped over him. Before he could turn to face her again, she'd swung one final time and caught him in the side, fracturing his ribs. He gave a gasp and knelt clutching his side. Amy took the opportunity to smash her hammer upside his head. He crumpled to the floor as well, groaning beside his friends.
Now Amy turned back to the rat, who was visibly shaking in fear. To him, she looked the picture of one of the old vengeful warrior gods, with all of her anger pointed straight at him.
"Go... away," Amy growled, "NOW!"
With that the rat gave a little cry before scrambling away. Leaving Amy a panting and sweating mess. She gave a little 'hmph' before letting her hammer disappear and making her way back down the road. Her wound was bleeding freely now and it was starting to pulse with the pain. Amy grit her teeth against it and kept telling herself, "When I get to the inn, I'll fix it. When I get to the inn, I'll fix it."
Still she couldn't stop herself from hissing at odd intervals or murmuring, "Ow ow ow ow ow." under her breath. Finally, after another ten minutes she was at the inn. She almost teared up in relief when she made her way inside the large log cabin-looking inn.
When she went inside, she saw a large dining area where there were about a dozen people already eating by a warm, crackling fire. The chatter was a bit loud but pleasant to listen to. Amy looked up to the walls and saw a few paintings of local natural features and a few family crests and portraits of people she didn't know. To the left of the fireplace against the wall was a staircase that led up and deeper into the inn. Altogether the place exuded warmth and welcome. Amy instantly felt safe here.
Or at least she did until someone finally caught sight of her and the dining area fell to silence. Amy blushed and shifted uncomfortably before she called out to no one in particular, "Um... I'd... like to get a room for the night please?"
Instantly a young orange dove scrambled up to her with a concerned look in her blue eyes. Despite the fact that she wore a floor length brown dress she moved quickly to Amy and gently grabbed Amy's gloved hand with her own gloved hand. Amy tried to flinch away in fear but when she wasn't taken by any visions, her eyes widened and her heart stilled.
"Oh ye poor dear, come with me and we'll get ye all set up," she crooned. However the next second she whipped her head around and cried out in her loudest voice, "JACKY! Where's Doctor Finn? We need him ta take a look at this slasher! And find Prim! Tell her te draw up some water fer the doctor!"
Amy blushed as she was led firmly away upstairs. When they reached the top of the stairs they continued forward into a curling hallway leading to different rooms. Amy was led straight into the fourth one. She had maybe two seconds to take in small bedroom with the window facing directly over the twin bed before she was told to sit on it. She was then told to take off her backpack and her dress for the doctor and the older brown bear practically tumbled into the room. He took one look at Amy as she was pulling her dress up before he gave a hiss of sympathy.
"My God lass, who'd ye go and piss off?" he asked as he turned to address the dove, "Jenny, love, grab me some water so we can clean this up and see how bad it truly is?"
"Prim's already grabbing it fer us," the dove answered, "She'll be up in a moment, she's right fast with the well."
As if on cue, another young dove came in through a door Amy hadn't noticed to her left. This dove was black with auburn hair held back in her braid. She was a bit bigger than her companion, Jenny, but she very briskly set the water in front of the doctor without a word. The doctor barely nodded his thanks before Prim was off again, supposedly to grab more water. At this, Jenny wordlessly pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to the doctor. The doctor took it and addressed Amy once more.
"Ye never answered how you got this lass. What happened."
Amy teetered on telling him the truth. About the children earlier that afternoon and how they'd gotten to her. Then she remembered Martha's look and her warning about the world... She decided that story was too embarrassing.
"There's three men lying by the road in the forest about ten minutes north of here," she decided, "There's a fourth one, a rat named Hovis, running around in there too."
The bear's eyes widened and he paused a moment before he continued, "You... you took on Gavin?"
Amy raised a brow, "Was that one of the beavers or the woodchuck? They didn't exactly stop to introduce themselves. Except to say they were 'merry men'."
This time Jenny gave a gasp and placed her hands on her mouth, "Ye took on the Hayden Brothers and Gavin!? How did you survive?"
Amy told the story as the doctor cleaned the wound and applied a poultice. Once that was done, he bandaged it up and gave a relieved sigh.
"Yer lucky the wound looked worse than it actually was. It'll be fine in a short while. Just make sure te change the bandages twice a day or so. Yer young, so it should close up after about two weeks if yer easy on it. Here's the poultice I used. Apply a little dab when you change the bandage. Your slasher should be completely healed a'fore ye need more of the stuff."
Amy thanked the doctor and he walked away, leaving a small jar of the medicine in her pack. As he left Prim came back, carrying a tray of stew with some bread and a glass of water. Amy accepted the food graciously before Prim left with a nod.
"Ye'll have to excuse Prim," Jenny smiled, "She don't talk much. But she's glad yer safe too. I can't wait to tell her yer story; she goes mad for tales of women in armor!"
Amy couldn't help but laugh through a mouthful of bread, "Some armor! My cloths are all ripped to shreds and apparently I look like a hooker to everyone!"
"Ah... a what now?"
"Oh uh... nothing. I just look really bad," Amy smiled, "Thanks so much for the room. How much for everything?"
Jenny quickly waved her hands, "Don't worry about that. Ye've been through enough and ye should get some rest. It's all on the house fer tonight. After that if'n ye want to stay, we'll discuss payment."
Amy's eyes widened in the gesture but gave a big smile nonetheless, "T... thank you so much!"
The dove shook her head, an oddly sad smile on her face, "No worries deary, just get some sleep. Ye'll be right as rain in the morning."
Amy was only halfway through the bowl of stew when she felt herself growing sleepy. She gave a great yawn and set the bowl and tray down on the floor. Her vision suddenly wavered and her eyes began to feel like they were weighed down.
"I must have been more tired than I thought," she decided. But then another 'wave' of sleepiness hit her and she began to feel her heart pound, "Wait..."
She suddenly couldn't help but feel the soup had tasted funny. At first she had thought it was because of a recipe she'd never had. Amy took a closer look at the remaining bowl of stew but could no longer concentrate on anything without her vision going out of focus... She wanted to move. Her mind began to panic but her body was shutting down and trying to drag her mind with it. First it was her legs and waist that made her fall to the side, shifting the bowl and tray to spill it over the floor. Then her arms and hands gave out and everything below her neck felt numb and disconnected. Finally just as she was about to go completely out of focus, she saw several looming figures walk into the room through the bathroom door as Prim had before. The last thing she heard was one of them say, "Damn, What a mess..."
Please read and review! Let me know what you think of Mercia so far!