We could see the small cottage from our post within the density of the trees that surrounded the small home.
We had asked one of the locals about any sighting of a new woman on the land, and they had all pointed us in the direction of this cottage. Although, it looked like it hadn't been lived in for years, all without being maintained. It was old, covered in moss and overgrown thorn bushes with struggling flowers at the stems. The door looked rusted but not untouched, leading me to believe it had been used recently.
"It's hard to see between the torn curtains and the vines, captain. But I don't see anyone inside." One of my men scouted for me, dashing towards me in a squatted sprint, trying not to blow our cover.
I grunted at the news but didn't turn to face him, instead choosing to examine the windows myself from the view I had in my position.
Not noticing any movement within the cottage, didn't look like anyone was home.
Although, if anyone were home I could only assume that they would answer the door if somebody knocked upon it.
In all fairness we weren't quite sure the woman we were spying on was even a woman or a witch, holding a stakeout would prove to be an even bigger waste of time if it turned out we had travelled to a random woman's home.
In that same moment that my plan began to form in my mind, the scout alerted us all to duck down beneath the shrugs as he caught sight of a person approaching from the dirt path.
The figure was dressed in a bone coloured hooded cape that laid secret to their appearance, but by the stature and the strut alone I could tell with completely certainty that was indeed a woman, possibly the woman the king had asked us to find.
"Is that her?" One of my men hissed, warning a slap upside the head from my officer, causing me to wince internally. How did I end up with this group again?
I watched as the woman trekked towards the cottage, a small sack in her hand that proved to be holding too much weight as she suddenly let the sack slip from her grasp, apples and pears rolling out from the opening as it landed in the dirt.
The hooded woman dropped to her knees desperately to collect the fruit and the bag, I could see her ginger locks fall out from beneath the hood, it oddly reminded me of the licks of flame in a bonfire.
The woman brought herself back to her feed and hurried towards the door, exerting her strength slightly to push it open, that was when I noticed the single apple that had rolled under a planted log, one that had got unnoticed by the woman.
And suddenly, the plan I had been forming in my mind snapped together like a puzzle. I could pick up the apple and use it as a point of discussion to have the woman open the door.
Although, I felt doubtful that the king was going to get what he wanted this time, this woman seemed to be just a lone young lady.
"You don't see many torch-heads around these parts." One of my men whistled, coming to sit upright from his crouching position, knowing it was safer to do this again while the woman was inside.
I ignored the comment he'd made about her, and moved from my position. Standing upright and walking away from my group and towards the small home.
"Captain!" My officer hissed.
"If I don't come out in ten minutes, break the door down." I ordered them, continuin my walk.
I walked right up to the mossy log and kneeled down on one leg, crouching below to reach for the apple hidden underneath. Feeling for the smooth curve of the fruit I grasped it tightly I my hand and brought it back out, standing to my feet once more.
If the woman was indeed a witch, I would be able to tell within the few first minutes. But if she wasn't a witch, I'll do as I please and be on my way back to the king, who would sorely be unhappy with me.
I knocked hard on the wooden door, wanting her to hear clearly that someone was waiting outside, if she was a witch she would have e traps set for unwanted visitors.
I awaited patiently. Waiting for any sign that I was about to be attacked, but there was no sign of movement around me.
Infact, my breath hitched for a moment when I heard the hatch on the door click and it began to open slowly. I came face to face with the woman behind it, no longer wearing the hood over her head and instead letting her long hair bellow behind her shoulders.
"Good afternoon officer." She greeted me, a light smile tightened her lips as she stared up at me. Her voice was young and pure, it feigned a sense of innocence but her eyes held something else, something more knowing.
I offered the apple to her, causing her eyes to dart down at my hand infront of me. "I saw that the lady dropped this apple, I just wanted to return it." I excused.
I noticed the caution in her movement as she took the apple from my hand, and I noticed the many rings that adorned her fingers as she picked it up.
"May I assume this lady was being followed? How did you know I dropped this?" She questioned me, her face expressed teasing demeanour but again her eyes held something else, like she was seeing right through me.
I was a little taken aback. She was right, this cottage was within a small nook of trees just outside the nearest village building. The only way it could be accessed is through the dirt path that took you back into town. I would have indeed had to have followed her to see her drop the Apple if my excuse were legitimate. Lucky for me it wasn't, which meant I could manipulate to my liking.
"I wouldn't be much of a guard if I let a pretty woman like yourself walk home alone. But unfortunately, you were too quick to catch up to." I lied, smiling at her warmly in an attempt to butter her up. If anything, taking to her was not enough to tell me if she was a witch, I needed to see some magic, or spell caster materials at the very least.
I'd also lied about being a guard. I was a bounty hunter, nothing more and nothing less.
The woman's smiled grew bigger, and she stepped to the side in the archway of the door. "Would you like to come inside? I was just making something to eat, guarding civilians all day must make you hungry." He offered me.
I wasn't sure if I was misreading the signs here, but it felt like this woman was flirting with me, and I was not one to refuse the offer to enter the home of a young woman, I am only a man.
Entering the small cottage I saw exactly what I had expected. It was run down, dank, dark and cluttered. Some pieces of furniture looked rather new, but as though they had been bought from a previous owner rather than made by commission.
"So how long have to been here for?" I asked her, taking a seat on the small wool chair by an empty stone fireplace, getting right down to business.
The woman took a moment to answer. "I inherited the home just recently, but I have lived here all my life." Was her response, beginning to chop the fruit on a cutting board behind me. This was a strange answer, not because it was rare for women to inherit anything from their family, but because the merchant had told the king she was new in town.
"As have I, but this is the first time I have seen you." I pressed.
"Well officer, this is the first time I have seen you too." She answered rather quickly, too quickly for my liking. This woman was defensive, which made me doubtful. She might not be a witch but what else was she hiding?
"I'm here on business, the king has sent me down this way to check on a missing man. Locals say he was turned into a frog." I urged some more, noticing the jar on the mantle which contained a green tree frog inside. Beside it sat other amphibians, but the frog stood out to me, it looked as though it were still moving.
The woman giggled behind me, the sounding ring through my ears like a melody. It was soft and sweet, but wasn't genuine. "A frog? Sounds like there's a witch in the area, so they sent out a single guard with a sword to find her?" She joked, almost like she was trying to undermine me.
But I'd noticed the mistake in her punchline, not once had I mentioned a witch, nor had I mentioned that the targeted witch was a female.
"I'm very capable with or without the sword, I'm capable in more ways than one."
"Is that why you wear armour laced with cold iron?" She asked me rather suddenly, like it had been rehearsed.
Before I could even rationalise my thoughts, the sound of the cutting board stopped and I heard the shift of feet against her stone ground. She was coming to attack me from behind.
I turned my body in the chair as I saw her come up behind me, the kitchen knife angled threateningly in her hand as she held it above her head. Her sweet smile had contorted to an expression of pure anger, eager to imbed the knife in my body.
I caught her arm with one hand and the cloak in the other, lifting her body up over the chair I swung her body over me and slammed it against the floor beneath my feet.
She attempted at scrambling back up to her feet but I climbed down ontop of her, my legs hooking on either side of her hips in a straddling position, I pinned her arms above her head and slammed her wrist down on the stone floor in, forcing her to release her grip on the knife.
"Witch hunter." She hissed, her eyes glowing an electric green colour.
"Witch."
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