The Death Bridge

"Ye think I don't know abit yer schemin' behind my back? What a fool ye must think I am to nae discover yer schemes!", Raven heard the big man bawl at the man in front of him.

She slowed down a bit and looked carefully around a tree. She could see that the big man's statement caught the other man off guard. She could see his scarred mouth open and close. His red brows furrowed as his brown-green eyes were firmly fixed upon the big man's furious face.

"What are you talking about? What scheming?", she heard him say.

The big man grew even angrier.

"Don't play dumb with me Riggar! I saw yer letter ", the big man said, anger dripping off his words.

"What letter? And how would you know it's mine? It's not like you can read…"

"{Well, I should make an appearance sometime…might as well do it now}", Raven thought and stood up straight.

She walked forward and into their line of sight. Before the big man could reply to the man's comment, the men spotted Raven and one of them yelled at her

"Halt there! You! Who are you?".

The two men stopped their staring match and looked over at Raven who was walking closer so that everyone could see her clearly.

"Go no further! Turn back and leave the way you came if you value your lives!" Raven yelled as she looked at each of the men.

There was silence.

The men could not believe their eyes, a young woman appearing out of nowhere. Finally, the big man spoke.

"Young lass, who are ye? What are ye talkin' about?".

Raven looked him straight in the eye.

"It does not matter who I am. There's a danger in this forest. If you value your life and the lives of your men, I'd suggest you leave this place while you're still able to. If you do not heed my warning and continue into the forest, I will not stop you. But know this, if you go further into this forest, you'll never come back out alive!", she said as she once more looked each of them in the eye.

"What danger lass?", the big man asked, a concerned look on his face.

None of them noticed the one the big man called Riggar pulling out his dagger. Before anyone could react, his blade was at the big man's throat.

"Move and you die", he said to the big man.

Raven looked at Riggar and the big man with a puzzled look on her face.

"That counts for you as well, little lady", he said when Raven wanted to move. "Grab her boys!"

The big man frowned. "So you're all in this together then?", he said to Riggar.

Two men grabbed Raven by her arms to prevent her from running away.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you", she said to the two men holding her.

They chuckled but let go of her arms nonetheless.

"I suppose yer goin' to explain to me why yer doin' thes…", the big man said as he glanced at the blade at his throat and back to Riggar.

"Why, yes! Since you're so eager to know. Well, you see, you are too soft for this kind of job. We're not getting any richer. You've been dragging that scholar along for too long. We should have sold him months ago! You don't allow us to have some fun when we raid! We can't even kill anyone! I've endured it long enough! Today, you are going to meet your end at my blade…", he said to the big man as he pressed his blade harder onto his throat.

A small drop of blood trickled down the big man's neck.

Suddenly a loud snort echoed through the thick and tense air. Raven felt the blood leave her face.

"{You stupid animal! I told you to run away! Why…why did you not listen!?}", she thought when she saw the doe standing near her.

She lifted her eyes away from the doe and saw one of the men had already nocked an arrow into his bow and was pointing it at the doe.

"Hey! Put that down! She's not going to hurt anyone! She's just a doe!", she yelled as she gave a step forward, fear clutching her heart.

"If you move, little lady, the doe dies. And so do you…", Riggar said with a murderous look on his face.

"Ye scoundrel!", the big man growled.

"See, that's exactly what I mean…you are too soft for this job", Riggar said to the big man.

He pulled out another dagger and held it against the big man's throat, crossing it with the other blade.

"And now, you bleed!", he said and Raven could see the muscles in his arms tense as he prepared to slit the big man's throat.

But before he could do anything, there was a loud crash and the wagon's doors went flying. Raven saw a lean man with hair as white as snow climbing out of the wagon.

The men reacted fast and before the white-haired man could even breathe, he stared into the tip of an arrow pointed at his head.

Not taking any time to find out who the white-haired man was, Raven punched the man on her left and swirled around kicking the other man in the face. Then she heard it…The sound of the arrow flying through the air followed by the cry of the doe as the arrow pierced its heart. She froze. She heard a soft thud and slowly turned around. The world around her disappeared as she saw the doe lying on the snow, the light leaving the doe's eyes with every spasm. She felt herself yell the doe's name, but it was muffled by the ringing in her ears. She walked towards the doe in a daze.

The big man's eyes were big with shock at the scene in front of him. He felt his stomach twist at the sight of the young woman's pale and shocked face. He heard the man holding the blades against his throat, chuckle. The white-haired man heard the chuckle and looked at Riggar with a cold expression.

"You think it's funny?", he asked the man with a tone as cold as the breeze blowing between them.

Riggar looked at the white-haired man with a fake look of surprise plastered on his face.

"Why yes! It is in fact, hilarious!", he said as he burst into maniacal laughter.

But his laughter was cut short by a voice. Everyone looked at Raven as she crouched by the dead animal.

"You…you…dare…", she said as a single tear escaped her eye. She removed her bloodstained hands from the doe and pulled the arrow free. "You…will…pay…with…your…life", she said in a low voice.

A cloud of golden mist surrounded her and her clutched fists glowing brighter with each word that she spoke. The men's eyes grew big at the sight of the light. The big man's mouth fell open in surprise and he felt the blades being pulled back. Riggar withdrew his daggers and looked at Raven with a slightly shocked expression. Raven slowly stood up from her crouched position and turned towards Riggar. The white-haired man's expression went blank.

"{The light…I've seen that light before, in my dream…}", he thought. The light became brighter until suddenly he felt a strange force knocking him backwards and sending him flying.

The men all went flying. Some of them were smashed into the trees, killing them instantly. When Riggar regained his senses, he found himself lying on his back in the snow. He got up feeling dizzy by the force that had hit him. He looked up and saw Raven walking up to him with the arrow still in her hand. She extended her free hand towards him and he felt nothing beneath him as he got lifted into the air. Suddenly he found himself pushed against a tree by an unseen force. Raven's cold and furious face entered his slightly blurred sight. She looked him dead in the eye, clutching the arrow in her hand. The expression on her face turned colder and deadly.

"And now, you bleed!"