“STOP!” I launched myself forward, jumping between the crowd and the girl tied to the tree. They furiously waved their torches and pitchforks at me. “This isn’t the answer!”

“What do you know boy?” An elderly man stepped forward and snarled. I stood my ground.

“I know she probably doesn’t deserve this!” I snapped, I had my arm in front of the girl to protect her.

“She is the cause of the sickness in my village! She has killed and stolen out innocent girls from their families!” The man was all sorts of furious, his plump, round face bright red and his hair sticking out in random directions.

“I highly doubt that,” I shook my head. “Let her live, I will personally deal with her. I am a ward of the king.” My words took a moment to sink in but as soon as they understood they collectively stepped back and gasped.

“The king? What is he doing sheltering a peasant?” The man snarled, I shrugged. I knew I had the upper hand now. I was upperclass unlike him.

“That’s my business and not yours,” I hissed. “Let this girl go, I will carry out her punishment.” The natural authority surfaced in my voice. The villager looked unconvinced but he mumbled some ununderstandable curses.

“Fine,” he pursed his lips and turned to look at his people. “The King’s Ward demands we release her to him, and since it is illegal to wrong the king, we are being forced to drop it. The lives of your children are in his hands.” There was a series of grumbles and then they all collectively agreed. Not that they had a choice.

After they all headed off into the thick of the forest, I made sure I was satisfied they had disappeared before I finally turned around. My hand went over my mouth instantly, but then fell away. My moments panic evaporated. I could’ve sworn Willow had stood in front of me, but this wasn’t Willow. The only resemblance Willow and her even shared was their face shape and sharp facial structure. This girl was much darker than my Willow.

Her skin was almost translucent, you could see her dark veins beneath the skin. Her paleness made her eyes look colorless, black and absent but yet they held unspeakable amounts of emotion. Her hair hung in curls down just before her elbows, frayed and messy. The girl’s arms were lacerated with rope burns and on one hand she had this strange dark mark that looked like a blood clot.

Carefully I removed the gag over her mouth and tears started streaming from her dark eyes. I moved to the restraints and after a good ten minutes they fell to the forest floor. She didn’t hesitate she instantly wrapped her arms around me tightly, shuddering as she sobbed into my shoulder. I could only pat her back and whisper it’s okay, the only experience I had from Willow. She hugged like Willow.

“Thank you, thank you so much,” she shuddered. I pulled away to look at the sobbing girl.

“I couldn’t let you die,” I smiled gently. I pushed her dark hair from her face.

“I deserve to die,” she sniffed. “You should have let them burn me. I did all those things, I can’t help it.” She was crying she shook so violently. I could only hold her and stroke her hair.

“No one deserves to die, no matter what you’ve done,” I promised.

“I do, I deserve to die,” she shook her head. “I have no soul, but I was so afraid to die. So afraid.”

“You aren’t going to die, everyone deserves redemption. I believe you do,” I swore. “What’s your name?”

“Salix…”