The Knights Duty

She Got Caught

She was going to kill him! She was going to kill them all! Men are the most perverted and brainless creatures on the Earth! How dare they?! How in dragon's name dare they do this?!

They put her on a horse with her wrists tied up, making her sit backwards, so she had to watch the smug face of that oaf of a knight whatever his name was. The bundle of herbals she wanted to take to the kingdom was still on her back, making her quite uncomfortable in this strange sitting position with one of her legs hanging over each side of the horse. They did not even have the decency to make her sit like a lady! No! She had to sit like a man, only backwards and now everyone could laugh at her strange position.

Except that no one did laugh at her strange sitting position. They laughed at the muffled screams she tried to produce.

''I hwea hy wui hie mffuhuda mwha hamt mffpyu hon ovamfich!''

''Uh… She said she's going to- repeat that please…'' Knight Michael translated her sentences pretty good. English and other languages sounded all the same to him, so there really was no problem with muffled noises – has anyone ever tried to learn Chinese? No? Good for you! Because what the brunette was saying was far more understandable than the half of Chinese dialects he has ever heard.

''Mapffpmmhhammphphphmaiihoatmpffillim!''

''Poisen you with…something and cut your throat, watching you die slowly and painfully. Euphemistic said… ''

''Amomphphpmhthiffallhhhh!''

''And…castrate you…''

All the men laughed good heartedly, never having seen such a brave girl that was as short as a child. Knight Noah was fascinated and annoyed at the same time. This girl really was quite interesting. Big mouthed and brave.

He pulled the bundle off her back and hung it over the side of the horse. He could do that at least.

The small group was on the way to the kingdom, which really was not that far away, but they had to get out of the forest and that without the girl's co-operation was quite a challenge. But Knight Noah was in no rush. He finally had the girl and his majesty will be very pleased to have gotten her.

Of course it is very unfair to her; even more because she was a herbalist who did nothing but help people and most probably animals in need; but maybe she would get the chance to do more if she became Queen. Who knows? Maybe his majesty will let her go! With that character of hers, he would not be surprised if he had to bring her back the next day.

When he woke up in the morning, he had no idea that he would catch her. He hoped of course, but he did not really plan the whole thing. He enjoyed the memory of how the caught her. He had been woken up from his heavenly dreams by something.

And this something was licking his ear, he realized.

At first, he thought it was just a dream. You know, having a beautiful woman lying next to him and whispering sweet nothings into his ear. But then again, a woman's tongue cannot be that large… And so very wet.

Knight Noah opened his eyes in shock, when he realized that yes… his goddamn horse was licking his ear.

''What the hell!'' he shouted, but his horse decided that his face was much tastier than his ear and licked his eyes, nose and mouth. ''Dammit!'' he muffled and pushed the huge animal away, rubbing his face, and looking around in confusion.

Where the hell was he again?

Four other men were still sleeping near him, but their horses were kind enough to let them be. His on the other hand liked his master too much and therefore bowed down again to nuzzle his face against his master's.

''Alright, alright, Blacky…'' the knight gave in and caressed his horse over the head. ''What is it, buddy?'' he asked his animal. It seemed that his horse just wanted to cuddle because he nuzzled his head at his feet. This was nothing new of course, but the way his animal was so persistent, was strange. ''Are you hurt anywhere?'' Noah gently pulled at his horse's face to make him look up and noticed how tired his animal is.

Blinking in confusion, the knight looked around and remembered where he actually was. The sun was shining brightly, which meant it was not morning anymore. But when he looked at the cottage a little further away, smoke was still coming out of the chimney. Which meant that the girl was either still working or just sleeping.

Knight Noah stood up very slowly and heard his bones crack. He stretched his back and raised his arms up in the air while yawning widely. He was way too tired for this. As quietly as possible, he stepped a little further into the forest, leading his horse away from the sleeping group.

''Let me see.'' He whispered to his animal friend and touched the horse's head, back and legs. When there was no problem, he gently put his hand over the stomach and that was when the horse flinched.

''Just what did you eat, buddy?'' he asked him, while gently massaging the horse's stomach. He blew at the flies around the horse's head, but of course it did not help. Those insect were annoying the crap out of him.

The knight sighed, still tired from the night outside. He looked around while massaging his horse. The forest was huge and green and very bright. As he already said a few days ago, too bright for his taste. One could not hide in here.

He noticed many animals walking through the forest, not really caring that they had human company, but still… There was something in here that made him shiver. It was like… like he was being watched… But, he could look around as much as he wanted, he did not see anything strange.

The trees were so tall that he was not able to see their tops and they were so wide that if there was something trying to hide there, he would not notice it. Not from the ground at least.

Man… This creepy forest brought chills. He could have been sleeping at home or somewhere at a girl's but no…

Apropo girl…

The brunette…

The image of her perfect body came flying through his mind and Knight Noah groaned in pain as he tried to calm his manly urges down. He really had to stop this.

''You better now?'' he asked his horse who licked his ear again, but this time his master laughed. ''You're a good boy.''

He walked over to his sleeping men, who started to wake up.

''Did we lose her again?'' was Sir Michael's first question, while he yawned. Knight Noah shook his head: ''No, but we better prepare ourselves. It's way past noon and my guess is, she is sleeping right now.''

And as soon as he said that, the door of the cottage opened. The men stiffened at the spot, watching the petit brunette walk out with a huge round bundle on her back, tied around her chest. She looked very tired and as proof, she yawned as well.

Her hair was in a messy bun, but it seemed she had fresh clothes on her. She rubbed her eyes, while locking the door and stepping aside. The cat next to her was stretching her beautiful black body, while the dog waived with his tail like mad.

''You two take care of this place, alright?'' she told the two animals. The dog sprung up and ran over the field where he had been yesterday as well. The cat on the other hand danced around the girl's feet and meowed. She purred in pleasure once the girl scratched her tummy, but then walked away, only to lie down in front of the cottage entrance.

Fascinating, thought Knight Noah. She trained the animals very well.

''I'm off now!'' she called to no one in particular and made her way through the forest. She did not notice the men behind the bushes and tiredly walked forward. Knight Noah guessed that she was on her way to the kingdom to sell her products.

The men quietly stood up, pulled their horses behind them and followed her. Once they were all deep in the forest, but noticing the path under their feet that most probably existed because of the girl's constant walking, they decided that it was time to act.

And act, they did.

They approached her silently, but then one of the men stopped on a twig that cracked under his feet and suddenly the girl stopped. She blinked tiredly and confused, turned her head back and gasped in horror when she saw five knights right behind her.

''Oh my god!'' she yelled and sprang up to run away. Knight Noah was faster. He grabbed her arm, pulled her into his chest and quickly tied her hands together with a small rope he always carried next to his sword.

He felt her small body resisting, but he was way too strong for her to handle him.

''You dirty, little scum! How dare you?! Release me this instant!'' she screamed into his face, her hair falling out of her bun, her face red with anger. Her brown eyes were sending deadly glares towards him and now that he had her this close, he could smell the mixture of herbals and flower pollen all over her clothes and hair. She gave off a really pleasant scent.

''I apologize, my lady. But the Prince wants to meet you and I need to bring you to the castle with or without your permission. It is my duty as a knight to follow orders.'' He told her feeling sorry for her, but at the same time a little angry at her for not co-operating.

''I don't care fo-'' her speech was interrupted by a small clothe ball that was pushed into her mouth. When she realized what they did, she yelled through the cloth and made them all flinch. Nevertheless, they had to do this. Knight Noah led her to his horse – and by led her, I mean, dragged her and pushed her because she was kicking and jumping and trying to hit him in the stomach with her elbow – where he lifted her up, realizing that even with the bundle on her back she was practically weightless, and made her sit backwards on his horse.

And that is how she got here…

As he said, he enjoyed the memory of it. But right now, he was concerned about something completely else.

She got quiet.

Knight Noah looked at the suddenly silent girl and again noticed how interesting her features were. She had a very petit body, slightly brown skin and hair almost as long as her whole figure. Her dark eyes stared into space, while the wind caused that her hair danced in front of her face, making her look like a beautiful fairy.

He was impressed how good her balance was, while sitting in that uncomfortable position, but well… If she had co-operated, she would have been riding a horse like a very normal person right now. There is nothing he can do to help her now. He has to do his job.

She suddenly looked up and he got a very strange feeling of suspicion. The expression on her face was strange. Relaxed, glad, focused… She looked at his fellow next to him and brought out her muffled voice.

''Oh…anh himnn hwamphph…''

Michael looked at her in confusion. ''Uh… You can't… Your hands are tied and you can hardly move…''

The girly suspiciously snorted and chuckled under her breath. Suddenly she jumped off the horse, throwing away the rope that was tying her hands and was now ripped apart. Her small feet literally seemed to fly away and all the men could do was yell in surprise and turn their horses back.

''Get back here, woman!'' Knight Noah screamed and took off after her, his horse breathing fast and loudly, his hooves crushing the plants under his weight.

The girl on the other hand ran as fast as she could through the evergreen mystical forest, knowing exactly where to go. Her bare feet jumped over small shrubs and colourful flowers and avoided trampling down other herbals. While she was running, she reached for the cloth in her mouth and threw it away as far as she could, anger finally overflowing her whole body. Her dress was not in the way; it seemed as if she knew how to run in it. Her breathing was fast and erratic, her heart beating extreme and adrenalin pumping through her veins. Her hair flew with the wind and never once did it cover her eyes.

The girl really did know how to run away.

''Heeeeyyyy!'' Noah screamed again, jumping from his horse, throwing his helmet down and running after her. ''Stop running!''

Just for a moment, the brunette turned her head back in fury and screeched: ''I rather die, you dung!'' Then she took off even faster.

''That little… Michael! Get your arse over here and get her!'' he yelled and gathered his strength. How the hell could this happen? He had her! He had her and he let her get away!

The brunette on the other hand ran for her life, jumped over bushes, dodged branches and almost flew over the undergrowth. She knew the forest better than the back of her hand but she had no idea where she should run. She looked up, her face red in fury and screamed at something that was hidden in the tree crowns.

''You useless idiots! Why the hell are you just watching me run instead of helping me?!'' Nothing moved in the tree crown, but it seemed like the girl saw something that made her even more angry.

''Just wait, you lousy baby! You can forget about that darnel you wanted to play with!'' Knight Noah had no idea what she was talking about and even less who she was telling this, but it seemed that there was someone somewhere and she was taking her anger on ''it''.

He could hardly ran after her for she was extremely fast and skilful and slowly but surely, he was losing sight of her.

Sometimes she hated that the forest was so bright and the trees so high. She could be seen from everywhere! ''Where the hell is Rory when you need him?!'' she mumbled under her breath and fell over a tree log. She quickly got up, looked around and noticed a curtain of ivy.

She threw herself through it and realized that she was well hidden behind it. She breathed heavily while trying to hold her breath and be as silent as possible. She heard heavy footsteps run past the curtain and waited until the other men ran past it too.

Her shoulders fell in relief and she collapsed with her back leaning on a trunk. A trunk? Huh? She looked around and then up. The ivy curtain was actually hiding the trunk of a tree that was so tall that the brunette was not able to see the top of the crown.

''This is something new…'' she mumbled under her breath and relaxed a bit. This tree was surrounded by others, but it was the only one with a curtain of ivy hanging from his neighbour trees and conveniently hiding its trunk.

''No wonder I haven't seen it yet.'' She took a deep breath and stood up. The branches of the tree were not that high so she easily reached one of them. She climbed up and did not stop until she was in the tree crown.

Now she was able to see the forest from far above and she noticed the group of men running around the forest area like headless chicken where she disappeared. She chuckled to herself, but quickly stifled her laugh. She must not be heard!

''That witch! You two go that way!'' Knight Noah sent his men around the area while he stayed around to see where he could have lost her. The girl pressed herself into the tree as much as possible and noticed huge cat-like eyes watching her from another tree crown. She blinked and then frowned in anger. ''Traitor…'' she whispered and put her finger on her mouth to show that the creature should be silent. The eyes blinked a few times and were then closed.

The brunette was completely focused on the disappearing eyes, so she noticed far too late that the knight could not be seen on the ground anymore. He was already climbing her neighbour three, believing that he might see more of the forest on one of the branches. He was not able to see her yet because she was on the other side of the trunk, but she finally realized that she made the mistake of staying unfocused and gave him the chance to find her.

She breathed deeply but silently, trying desperately to stay hidden. She just took a small step to the side, when a small twig cracked under her feet. With horror, she watched it fall down and catch the knight's attention the moment he climbed up her neighbour tree and was at the same level as she.

The knight blinked in confusion, but then noticed the movement behind the trunk of his neighbour tree.

''You!'' he yelled and made her jump in shock. She showed herself and was about to jump off her branch to reach one of the branches of the next tree, but he stopped her.

''Wait! J-just stop, alright! Let's make a deal! Stop running away!'' he called, almost desperate, for he knew that if she disappeared now, he will not be able to catch her.

''A deal? A deal? Have you lost your mind? There is no deal to make! I don't want to marry prince Finn Hudson and I don't want to go with you, you stupid arse! What's there to make a deal about?!'' she yelled right back at him, with her right hand holding onto the tree trunk, while standing on a thick branch high above the ground.

The wind blew her long wavy hair around and her dress danced slightly. She looked like a hero from one of those epic poems. Beautiful and strong.

''But we only want you to meet him! There's no need to marry him! You can always come back!''

''Oh stuff it you! We already talked about this! Prince Finn will not allow me to get back! As soon as we arrive, he will introduce me to his parents and pull me into his room where he will rape me like an animal! I won't have a choice but to stay, you-''

''But-''

''Do not play stupid with me! Both of us know what this is about and I told you that I'm not co-operating!''

''But it's the King! And his son! The King ordered t-''

''I don't care about the King's order! Why are you so willing to do whatever his Majesty wants? You can easily dodge his will by looking for a girl who would want to marry the prince! Why does it have to be me?!''

''Some of us need this job, gierela*! If I don't follow orders, I might lose it and pay the consequences!''

''Of course it's all about you, you selfish, ignorant, spineless sword handler! You can still become a smith if you ever wanted, but I, once I would marry that prat of a spoiled crown heir, my life would be over!'' she screamed, making a few birds fly up in panic.

''Do you have any idea what a princess or Queen can do? Nothing, that's what! Females are losing their equality towards men if you haven't noticed. And I have no intention of becoming one of those silent and abused damsels! I can promise you that if – and I repeat IF it ever happens that I will be forced to marry that prince, I will kill him with my bare hands if he ever as much as touches my pinky finger!''

The knight blinked at her impressed. He stared at her for a few moments and then sighed. He sat down on the branch, his legs dangling over the edge. With his hand, he went over his face in frustration.

''Look-'' he started, but was immediately interrupted.

''No, you look! Prince Finn is a dump, horny and very pampered, self-absorbed brat! I know it, you know it and the whole damn kingdom knows it.'' She was right, he had to admit.

''And there is no chance for me to continue with my work after he lays his ugly, perverted hands on me. He doesn't know who I am and what I do and he doesn't care about it. All he wants is someone to have sex with and I have no idea how the hell have you lot found me and decided to target me.'' She was throwing her arms up in frustration, changing expression each second and went from screaming to whispering.

She sighed, desperate to find a solution and sat down on her own branch, dishevelling her hair. He stared at her for some time. He completely understood her, but he had no choice! He had to do this! If not, he will lose his position and money and then his sister would have to face a lot of problems.

''You know that I understand you, but it's not just about following orders, it's about survival and I want to survive as well. By not doing what I have to do, I won't make it until next year, you know…''

She nodded, not really listening, but he knew that she knew what he was talking about. They were silent for a moment. And it was also silent around them. Animals ran away in fear once the both human beings started to yell at each other. The wind gently blew through the tree crowns, making the leafs dance and rustling in the air, producing such a simple, yet beautiful sound that he and the girl opposite him calmed down for a moment.

He stared at her now. She was cursing under her breath and dishevelling her hair in distress.

''You've got quite a vocabulary.'' He mentioned, impressed at her cursing.

''What would you know?!'' she barked at him in anger, her eyes furiously sending daggers at him. If they could kill, he would have been dead by now.

''I know enough…'' he smirked, glad that she seemed to have calmed down. But oh, he was so wrong.

''Oh yeah?'' she stood up again, reaching for the cones of the pine that grew very close to her branch. He stood up too in fear she might fall or jump. ''Then listen here you arse,'' and she threw a cone at him, hitting him right in the shoulder. ''axwound,'' and threw another cone at his head. ''bampot,'' and another. ''but pluck,'' and another. ''chode,'' and another. ''cockhead,'' and another. ''kunte, prick, jackarse, dookie!'' and a whole lot of cones one after another.

''Ouch- you- au! Damn- ouch, ouch- for god's s- aua! Woman! Stop- ouch- it!'' the poor knight had his arms in front of him to defend himself from those terrible cones she was throwing at him like he was a brattish boy. But he was far from being successful.

''Just- ouch- calm down, by the lady- ouch!''

''Don't tell me what to do you filthy bugger, self-loving divvy!'' she threw another few at him, her voice loud and furious and one can literally see how her hair was electrified with the hateful energy that overpowered her senses.

Until the moment, she noticed it.

She was about to throw another cone at him, but stopped in her movements, letting her arm fall down slowly, while her eyes widened in surprise.

She blinked at him and made him open his eyes and carefully put his arms down. He was not sure if this was the end of her drama.

''You can't be serious.'' She told him disbelievingly.

He blinked at her in confusion, his breathing hard and his cheeks red.

''What?'' No really, what? He did not understand what made her so shocked. He looked behind his shoulder to see if there was something there, but all he could see were trees and trees and more trees.

''Are you actually getting excited right now?'' she asked him still in astonishment.

''Wha-'' then he realized what was going on. He felt it – his arousal. But she could not have seen it, could she? He had way too much clothing on him to make it that visible. But, he supposed that his pupils were dilated, his face completely flushed and his breathing quite harsh.

Oh, well…

''Have you forgotten that I'm an excellent observer? I notice things before you can even think about them!'' she looked him up and down, rolled her eyes at him and then turned her face away. The knight could not believe what was happening! He flushed even more, embarrassed that this woman made him feel that way.

He groaned in frustration, trying to cool down.

''Well, I'm sorry! I cannot control my body like that and you know it! You are a female and it's quite logical that at one point I would react!''

She waived her hand carelessly. ''No problem for e here. I've seen more than enough of all these during the treatments of some ill people.''

He glared at her for making stomping all over his pride like it was nothing in comparison to- dammit! Never has a girl insulted him that way!

But it seemed that the girl was just teasing him if that smirk on her face that she tried so desperately hide was an indication. Her shoulders were shaking slightly, while she tried and tried to stifle down her amusement, but when she turned her eyes on him, he saw laughing tears in her eyes that sure enough took their curse down her cheeks while she roared in laughter.

It was his time to roll his eyes at her and smack with his tongue in annoyance.

That brat.

First she complained about everything, then she threw cones and curses at him like he was a dog and now-

''When was the last time for you? To react like that, it must have been quite long.'' Was she seriously asking him that?!

''You've got some nerv-''

''Come on, just tell me! It's not like I will insult you for that!''

He pouted like a child at her, but then sighed in surrender, mumbling something under his breath. Her eye brow made its way up her front head.

''What was that?''

''It doesn't matter, you brattish gierela!'' he exclaimed, deciding not to tell her. It was his business, mind you. The brunette laughed again, her whole face shining brightly all of a sudden and her figure finally relaxed.

He was fascinated by her. He could not deny it. And he definitely could feel his body react a little stronger now. Dammit.

''You know, your knightness-'' she started, her bright and smiley face turned towards him again and her eyes a little teary starring right at him.

''You're a very odd man. And-huh?'' suddenly her tree started shaking violently, making her lose balance and fall off the branch with a fearful shriek.

With horror in his eyes, he watched her disappear through several smaller branches and then into a huge flowery bush. When he looked down, he realized that his men were shaking the tree in order to make her fall. He was not sure if he should be proud of them to have skilfully sneaked under her tree while she was occupied with yelling at him or be angry with the careless act that could have killed her. He quickly climbed down, still in shock and threw himself into the bush. He stopped at the sight in front of him.

''Auauaua…'' she moaned, but he all he could do is laugh, when he saw her lying in that flowery bush without a scratch on her skin. It was quite attractive if he was being honest – the view, he means. With her arms and legs sprawled apart, her dress slightly ripped at the sides and with her hair partly hiding her face and partly knotted in flowers. His arousal disappeared when she fell down but it could quickly come back if he wanted.

''I think, this is a sign…'' he told her and reached for her arm. He grabbed her and pulled her up, quickly tying her arms together with the short rope he had with him. He could feel the heat coming from her tired body and in all honesty, it affected him now even more than the sight of her being angry before. Her petit figure right in front of him and her small hands in his made him want to gather her up in his arms like a child and take her away with him to- uh- bad thoughts bad thoughts… She might become the Queen of England!

She was still shaking her head to clear her vision, when the other men joined their leader. Knight Noah helped her walk, but once she realized what was going on, she tried to kick him.

Of course, after that she found herself with two cloths in her mouth, her arms and legs tied together, while riding a horse, lying on his back, facing the sky. ''Mmphhhmhphmh! I hwea Imonna hill ya!''

''Yeah, yeah, I know. Just wait until after the prince sees you. Then you'll be allowed to kill me. Now I would ask you to stop moving your pretty lips because I'm going to stuff another cloth in your mouth if you don't.''

She glared at him so sharply that he could feel the intensity on the back of his head. He felt sorry for her on the one hand, but on the other, it was his job to bring her to the king and he could not think about what she felt because it could cost him his head. He wants to live for a couple of decades, so pardon him for his behaviour.

''I hwat ya I hwate ya!'' she spat out like a mad woman and if she were able to, she would have jumped and strangled him with her bare hands. And he knew that she would be quite successful. Christ… What would his majesty want with such a woman?

* gierela - girl (old English)