Wooden Ships and Iron Men

Hugh and Isy walked side by side on the cliff tops, away from the town. They had left their ship behind in the jetty and were now heading up the hill to find a place for them to camp for the night.

“Hugh?” Isy said, stopping and looking at Hugh, “Is this a good idea?”

Hugh stopped and turned to her. He was tall, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He was handsome, one of the more attractive men in the town, but he had a scar running down his face that made him look dangerous. Everyone knew why he had it - he had caught his wife with another man and fought with him and got cut by his sword.

Isy was beautiful too. She had pale skin and long red hair that tumbled down over her shoulders, reaching all the way down to her waist. Her eyes were big, deep green, like the sea in spring when it was clear and calm. She was one of the prettiest girls in town and everyone knew who she was - she was married to Hugh.

They were unhappy though. Both of them wanted to get out of here and start a new life somewhere else where they wouldn't be under control of The King. They didn't want to be slaves anymore - they wanted to live freely even if it meant being poor and homeless. So they ran away together, leaving everything behind. They stole a small fishing boat from a harbour just outside town, took some food and water, then set sail across the vast ocean towards freedom. But after many weeks at sea their water started running low so they came ashore at an island to replenish their supply but now they couldn't leave because there were guards at the harbour who would arrest them as soon as they tried to board any ship or steal theirs back again if they hadn't taken it far enough away yet. So instead they decided to retreat back up into the mountains where nobody lived except animals like deer so nobody would find them there. They would stay there until nightfall then sneak back down towards the harbour on foot from there so no one would see them arriving back in town before morning when people were going about their daily business again; hopefully without anyone noticing that two people from their town weren't there anymore either.

Hugh looked back at her for a moment then walked over towards her again. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. He kissed her softly on the lips then whispered into her ear: “This is our only chance to make it out of here alive! We can't turn back now!”

Isy hesitated for a moment then nodded weakly in agreement: “I know... I know we have no other choice... but I'm scared Hugh! I don't want to die!” She buried her face against his chest as tears started rolling down her cheeks. “What if we get caught? What will happen? Will they kill us?”

Hugh stroked her hair softly as he hugged her tight against him: “Don't worry my love... I'll do everything I can to protect you! You're safe with me!” He pressed his lips against hers again then continued: “We're almost there anyway... let's go! We should be able to sneak past them quietly without anyone seeing us if we keep moving fast enough! This is our only chance!” He pulled himself away from her again then grabbed hold of her hand so she could follow him as she did earlier on top of that cliff when she showed him where those guards were stationed earlier this afternoon when she went scouting ahead while he stayed behind preparing their escape route by making sure no-one would see them during their return journey either by lying in wait further up here or leaving something behind that could lead people towards them later on when they left it behind accidentally while fleeing through the woods tonight after dark after successfully escaping those guards who might wonder what's going on if someone sees them sneaking past them like that...