The first thing I realized when I woke was that my head hurt. It almost felt as if everything in there had been rattled around. I was very familiar with the workings of my brain, for we had been together a long time, but since I had gotten kicked I could almost sense a new section in my brain…one that I had never used before.
I must be delirious, I thought.
I noticed that I was in a very uncomfortable position. My eyes flashed open and I found that I was lazily slung over a very muscular back. As my eyes shifted I noticed that the back belonged to a very pretty, but ugly man. His features were perfect, but something about them just looked all wrong. His eyes were a dark, dark green, almost black. I found it hard to actually look him in the eye without having the urge to vomit.
There was a logical part of me, (that I was using less and less of), that said that you should be grateful he carried you instead of dragging you. But I could not stand having his grubby body touch me for one second longer.
I used my knee to stab him in the back, and used the force of the stab to flip off his back and onto the ground. I landed in a crouched position.
He bucked his back to try to escape most of the pain, and he spun on a dime to turn and hiss at me. I stayed in a low crouch, ready to protect myself.
“Now, now Zoe,” I heard somebody calmly say behind me, “he wasn’t going to hurt you.” I stayed still, not relaxing, because my carrier still looked ready to attack.
“I can walk on my own,” I mumbled. I turned back to look at the speaker, and found it was the leader I had conversed with earlier.
“Very well,” he said with a nod at the carrier, who immediately relaxed his position. I too relaxed.
“We aren’t far from the palace, only another one hundred miles. We should make it by nightfall.” I nodded and started walking.
I caught up with the main group in no time. I walked over to the side, not wanting to draw attention to myself. They each, in turn, glanced at me and were in awe of my beauty. A few of them even made barely audible, low whistles. I wondered why no girls traveled with them. I soon found out.
We stopped to rest a couple hours later, and I was grateful, for my legs were about to give out. I had traveled long, hard days with Hiram before, but we usually kept a slower pace than these people.
I was getting weary after the second hour, and I think the leader noticed, but I was too stubborn to call for a rest. I had asked for this, and I was going to do it right, just to show them.
After the fourth hour, the leader had called for a stop, using the excuse that his legs were hurting. The rest of the team must have known that this was highly unlikely, and threw me a couple of curious glances. I hid all emotion from my face… no one had to know that I was very appreciative of the call for a rest stop.
Once we sat down, we were joined by another of their party that was scouting ahead. By the quick furtive glances that were thrown from me to him, I knew that his being picked for scouting was merely an excuse to get him away from me. I wondered why that might be. I looked into his eyes, and saw that were not filled with hate, but with mischievous longing. He looked as if he needed to pull a prank or cause some trouble daily, just so he could even mildly enjoy life. The other members tried to steer clear of him, with only a few talking to him, risking upsetting him. Everyone one looked at them with pity, for only the stupid converse with him. I was surprised to find that even the leader tried to steer clear, and once I knew that not even he had control over him, I braced myself for trouble.
“Hey little missy,” he said, gracefully prancing toward me. He sat down on the ground next to me and studied my face thoroughly. “Do you like traveling with us?” I displayed no emotion on my face and just sat there…staring. “Do you like traveling with us?” he tried again. I said nothing. “Do you ever talk?” I still just sat there, hoping he would give up and go away. His eyes narrowed. “I’ll make you talk,” he growled. I said nothing, but narrowed my eyes at him; my anger was so much more impressive than his. He hissed at me not wanting to be outdone, but I didn’t move. He lifted his hand, his palm flat, in prime slapping position. I raised my lips in a threatening motion, but fear was growing behind my eyes, for if he hit me, I knew it could get out of hand quick.
His hand was a blur as it came down and landed on my face. My face stung and my eyes filled with tears. One of the eyes was too full, and a tear trickled my face and fell on my lap. I followed it with my eyes. Anger took over my body as I slowly looked back up to his face.
I lunged at him. He wasn’t ready for that since people don’t normally fight him back. I grabbed his arms, and pinned them to the ground with my body kneeling on top of his. I growled angrily. He was surprised, then mad. Then he realized he wasn’t going to beat me, so he made it look like he let me, so his pride wouldn’t be hurt.
“Hey, I love you too baby, but we shouldn’t be doing this in front of the others.” Once I realized what he was talking about, I jumped off him. He tried to get up, but I wasn’t through with him yet.
“Don’t mess with me,” I hissed at him. And with that I threw my foot out and caught him squarely where no man wants to be caught. He shrieked in pain, and tears were running down his face. He rolled around in the grass, and glared at me. I growled so furiously at him, that all of the others shied away from me.
I went over to a different spot, (away from everybody else), sat down, and glared at anyone who dared make eye contact with me.
In a minute, the leader decided that it was time to go again. He sent the one I had beaten up front again to scout. I stayed in the back this time, away from everyone else. They were comforted by my distance, I could tell. They were weary of me now, and I was glad for the time to think.
I wondered about Hiram. What had happened to him? Was he okay? Would he save me? Is it possible for me to be saved? And then the big question. Will he care enough to save me?
My thoughts were interrupted by a bugle call…we had been spotted by the castle.
The castle was amazing to look at, with its field of green surrounding it, the pink and purple tulips that acted as a moat around the castle walls. But I remembered to much pain from this place. For me it was not a place of beauty…it was just a reminder of what I had to save my sister from.
Once inside the castle, I was led to a small room with no furnishings except a bed.
“Sleep well,” my escort chuckled, “for in the morning she wants to see you.”
I shuttered at the thought of having to see her, but I took his advice and slept, for I knew that sleep might not be a thing prisoners are allowed to do often.