Getting to know you

Vinncent passed the woman and continued walking north. He planned on staying true to his word and not forcing the woman to follow him. Although he could protect her from being enslaved he could not entirely guarantee her safety. It didn't take too long before Vinncent began to hear the grasses behind him rustle as the woman walked through them.

"So, you decided to come along with me?" Vinncent asked without looking back.

"Yes I figured that I would be better off with you than on my own." Llorva partially lied "I would be fine without him however I don't know his motives for capturing mw or if I can avoid being captured and enslaved again" the thought caused her to shudder as she considered it.

"I see" Vinncent paused "So do you have a name by chance? I would feel horrible calling you a slave woman." Vinncent admitted

"Oh, yes sorry master." Llorva said dropping her head a small tear forming in her left eye "This slaves name is Llorva." As the tear rolled down her face Llorva clenched her fists and swore to herself. "Damn it! Damn it all!" she sobbed inside "I thought I was free however it looks like I only traded on master for another." Vinncent stopped cold mid stride, the muscles on his body visually tensing. "What did you just call me?" Vinncent asked Llorva in surprise "I called you master." Llorva sniffled her head toward the ground. "I am sorry if this slave has offended you." Vinncent looked at Llorva with shock "I thought I already said that I wanted to free you from that man." Vinncent said trying to calm the woman "Why would I go through the effort of killing your old master to free you from your slavery only to enslave you myself?" Vinncent continued confused. Lifting her head a little Llorva replied "Because you wanted this slave for yourself sir." Flabbergast Vinncent walked over to Llorva. With each step closer he began to notice that Llorva was trembling slowly lifting his arms Vinncent gently cuffed the poor woman's shoulders causing her to flinch in fright. "Llorva please look at me." Vinncent said softly "Llorva please!" Vinncent repeated. Llorva slowly raised her head to look Vinncent in the eye looking at her reddened face Vinncent could tell she had been crying. Slowly lifting his left hand Vinncent tried to wipe a tear from her face. The sudden gesture caused Llorva to once again flinch. "I am not going to hurt you." Vinncent said looking at the woman and trying again "I am not like the man who had previously enslaved you." having wiped away the tear Vinncent looked into Llorva's ice blue eyes. "I do not see you as, nor want you as a slave. I see you as a woman who needed help and as of such I provided." Vinncent lightly smiled "I killed him so that you might be free and make your own decisions on how you want to live your life. So that you might live life knowing that you will not be beat if you make a mistake." Vinncent said gently holding her hands in his "I want you to have a better life than what you had and as of such know that I will treat you with the respect you deserve rather than how that sorry excuse of a man did." Vinncent released Llorvas hands and took a step back "I don't want to be a replacement for something so vile as what that man stood for. You are not a slave anymore Llorva, your free."

"Really you mean it?" Llorva said the gravity of the situation finally settling in her mind. "Yes Llorva." Vinncent smiled "You're free." Llorva looked at Vinncent for a second as if to determine whether she should trust him or not. Then with a sudden motion Llorva closed the distance between them and hugged Vinncent. "Thank you." Llorva said crying on Vinncents chest. "Thank you so much." Vinncent smiled as he resisted the urge to stroke Llorvas' blonde hair. "Don' thank me yet we are still not in the clear yet." Vinncent said as Llorva released him and wiped her face. "C'mon lets get going shall we." Vinncent smiled nodding to the north "Yes let's" Llorva smiled happily.

Several minutes later Vinncent saw what looked like a forest on the horizon. "Looks like there is a forest up ahead, let's stop there for the night." Vinncent said looking to see what Llorva thought "That sounds like a good idea." Llorva agreed as the forest kept getting closer the faint sound of horse hooves reached the duo. "looks like they're here." Vinncent frowned as the outlines of horses and their riders slowly marked the horizons. Looking toward the forest Vinncent said "We wont make it to the forest on foot I'll have to carry you." Llorva looked at Vinncent with a confused expression before she understood what he meant and nodded at him. With the concern of consent out of the way Vinncent promptly changed into a xenomorph, gently picked up Llorva by her back and knees before making a B-line for the forest.

It was not long before the forest surrounded the pair however the sound of horse hooves still rang through the air. "I don't believe we can run from them forever." Vinncent said in Llorvas mind "I'm going to need to fight them." he continued "And let me guess I will get in the way?" Llorva said "Yes and no." Vinncent admitted "Yes because you could be used as a hostage or be right up killed, and no because while you seem weaker I am sure you can hold your own." "So your going to have me sit out then?" Llorva asked "Preferably yes." Vinncent said "However depending on how spirited about that you are that may be subject to change." "I'm fine not fighting after all I might just get in the way." Llorva said thinking about the market square. "Alright then we will need somewhere to hide you." Vinncent said "What about that tree up ahead?" Llorva said pointing out a large tree "It might work." Vinncent said "Only one way to find out." At the base of the tree Llorva grabbed onto Vinncent as he began to ascend the tree. In a matter of seconds the duo was twenty feet in the air. The part of the tree that they currently occupied was dense with leaves and almost completely obstructed the view of the ground. "I will be back soon alright." Vinncent said with his body poised to leap and head toward Llorva "alright just be careful." Llorva said, making herself comfortable on a large branch.

Smiling (if a xenomorph even can) Vinncent leapt from the tree and landed on all fours. The sound of horse hooves was quickly getting closer. Looking around Vinncent saw another large tree closer toward where the sound of hooves was coming from. "That's where I will wait for them." he thought "It's away from Llorva's hiding spot and is near several others." Running on all fours Vinncent quickly reached the tree and grabbed a rock and placed it in his mouth along the way. Vinncent quickly scaled the majority of its height before finding a branch and positioning himself so as to give him a clear view of the ground below. Soon the sounds of horses hooves combined with the shouts of men as they entered the forest. "Slow down men!" one of the voices called out "The forest gets denser up ahead watch your surroundings the demon could be anywhere." The sound of horse hooves slowed as the men came closer. Few of the men spoke but those who did whispered. it was not long before Vinncent saw the horsemen pass below him. "I almost feel bad for these poor bastards." Vinncent thought "although they know that I have the advantage they have yet to realize just how much of an advantage I have.