Author's note: This is my first fan fiction, so please don't be too hard on me. If you read my story, I would really love to know what you think of it. Reviews help motivate me to keep writing. And don't hesitate to tell me if there is something can do to improve. One of the main reasons I'm doing this is to enhance my writing skills, so it would be quite helpful. Well, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy it!
She opened her eyes to the vast, black darkness. Still feeling drowsy from sleep, she shook her head a little, trying to clear her thoughts. She could not understand why it was so dark. Her initial and most obvious explanation was that night had fallen. But something did not feel quite right. Even on the darkest of nights, she should have at least been able to discern shadows of her surroundings. Yet here she could see nothing at all. Even the moon and stars had left her completely alone, refusing to shed their light from above.
She began to panic, concluding that perhaps she had gone blind. Though what rational thought she had remaining told her that the incidence of a seeing person losing their sight overnight would be quite rare, this did little to quell her fears.
Realizing she was still lying on her back on the ground, she attempted to push herself upright, only to find that her hands had been immobilized, held together tightly in front of her. She struggled against the bonds, yet it was to no avail. She merely succeeded in causing herself more pain, the rough material binding her hands cutting deeper into her tender skin.
She temporarily refrained from pulling against the restraints, instead focusing her attention on rolling over on her side. Using mostly her legs, she pushed herself over onto her left side. But before she could decide what to do next, a sharp blow to her stomach forced her to stop moving completely, as the wind was knocked out of her. She cried out, though the sound came out only as a meek whimper. It was then that she discovered that a coarse rag had been pulled across her mouth. Why hadn't she noticed it before? Now that she was conscious of the cloth, she realized it had been hindering her breathing.
A harsh voice above her warned, "Quit your squirming! Else you'll wish you'd never been born". But the pain was too much; she doubled over, curling into a fetal position. Though she could not prevent herself from trembling, she forced herself to stay under control, and remain as still as possible. This was quite a difficult feat, considering that she could nearly feel the hot breath of the dark figure towering above her, and smell the foul odor she knew could come from no other source.
It was not until she was certain that she heard the footsteps receding that she finally felt she could breathe again. Hopefully her captor would not return soon, allowing her sometime to think things over. She desperately tried to recall what had happened previously, to land her in this horrible situation, hoping to find some hint as to how she could escape. Yet she found she had no recollection of it, and try as she might, she could make nothing of the hazy words and images in her head.
She did not even have any idea of how many had taken her hostage, or why. She could not remember doing anything that would give another a reason to harm her. But then again, she could not remember much of anything, so that was of little help. Perhaps she was a prisoner of war. What if she was now in the midst of an entire army? Even if she did manage to free herself from the binds, how would she ever be able to fight them all?
This was not helping at all; on the contrary, it was causing her to panic even more. Anyway, her fears were groundless; perhaps the man whose voice she had heard was the only one guarding her. Though she desperately hoped it was so, she knew in her heart that in these times, only a fool would travel alone. Hence it was highly likely that at least one other person was accompanying him. Besides, if she was of enough importance to capture, they would not risk her escaping or being taken by another.
If only she could see again, she thought helplessly. She had not realized until now just how much she relied on her eyes. What could she possibly accomplish if she was in absolute darkness? But after all, her feelings were quite normal. Nearly everyone behaved in a similar manner: never fully appreciating one's blessings until they were taken away. She recalled once hearing that when one goes blind, the remaining senses are amplified. Yet the only senses she had left that might be of use were her senses of smell and hearing.
She pondered on this for a moment, when suddenly, she had an idea. She could listen carefully for the sounds around her. Perhaps she could try to determine from which direction the footsteps were coming from. That way, she could tell if someone was approaching her; and in addition, she could attempt to find out the number of her captors. For now however, she could no longer think. The dull, persistent throbbing at the back of her head was obstructing her thought process. She needed to rest. She rolled back over on her back, and nearly immediately drifted off to sleep.