Jennifer was completely out of breath. Either from trying to run from the barbarians or from the perfect example of a man standing before her. His bounding muscles under his tunic, his brown short hair and nicely groomed beard made her heart skip.
Arkan reached out his hand and she took it out of instinct. She felt a spark jump between them but that quickly turned to nausea as she stood up. The smell of blood mixed with dirty corpses was a sickening recipe.
“Are you all right?” Arkan asked.
Jennifer looked down at herself. She had a couple scratches but was otherwise fine. “I think I'll be okay.”
Arkan stowed his bow behind his back and his eyes traveled up and down Jennifer's slim body. “My name is Arkan.”
Jennifer blushed. The only man to ever look at her like that had been Hugo. “I'm Jennifer.”
“It's nice to meet you. We should get out of here.”
Realization hit Jennifer. “We need to get back there. My parents are in trouble.”
Arkan didn't get a chance to reply. Jennifer darted back the way to her village.
Arkan followed and called out ahead. “We need to be careful. There could be barbarians around.”
Jennifer could barely hear Arkan over the blood pulsing in her ears. She had to get to her parents. She had to make sure they were okay.
Arkan and Jennifer made it to the outskirts of the village. Smoke from burned-down homes filled the sky. The place was quiet. The fight was over.
Jennifer ran straight for her house. She opened the front door expecting to see her mother and father standing there.
But the place was empty.
“Mother, are you in here?”
No response.
Jennifer went through each room and found nothing.
Arkan entered behind her with his bow drawn. “Looks like nobody is here.”
“My mother was in the middle of a fight when I ran away.” Jennifer fell to her knees with tears hitting the ground. “Why did I run away? How could I be so stupid? My mother needed my help. And now she's gone.”
Arkan inspected his surroundings. “There definitely was a fight here. A small amount of blood was spilled. Most likely your mother was injured.” Arkan put a hand on Jennifer's shoulder. “The barbarian tribes don't always kill. They sometimes take slaves.”
Jennifer wiped her eyes and looked up at Arkan. “You think she might be alive?”
“I'd bet my life on it.”
Jennifer got up and swayed for a moment. Arkan steadied her. “I need to find my father too.”
She left her home and began turning over corpses. Every dead body was a neighbor or a friend. She broke down crying. But her father was nowhere to be found.
Arkan left her alone to meet with the Rangers. They stood at the edge of the village, cleaning their weapons.
“Everyone all right?”
Garel nodded. “No injuries.”
Belim slapped his big belly. “Unless you count my empty stomach. When are we going to eat?”
Arkan laughed. “You all deserve a big feast after this.”
“Who's the woman?” Farondil asked.
Arkan looked behind him at Jennifer crying over one of the bodies of the villagers. “Found her in the forest. Name's Jennfier. Two barbarians had her cornered.”
Jennifer approached the group of rangers. The forest was spinning behind them. Her legs were weak and could barely hold her up. “We need to go after them. They took my parents.”
“We can't just yet,” Arkan replied. “We have no idea how many barbarians lie across the river. We need to see the King for reinforcements.”
She tried to protest but her heart was pounding in her chest. Jennifer's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she dropped to the ground.