Isolde

Tears trickled from her eyes as he used her in the manner in which he had paid for. His putrid, alcohol filled breath in her face made her feel sick as his dirty hands fumbled all over her small frame squeezing and pulling. As he finished he flung her to the ground like she was nothing, threw the money at her and onto the alleyway floor leaving her to help herself. Picking herself up off the ground she turned round and into the waiting arms of another man. He pulled her towards him turning her round so her back was against him. Then taking a knife he swiftly moved it in front of her throat.

"Aahhh there you are my little whore" As she tried to struggle he pulled her closer and slid the knife lightly across her neck leaving a small cut.

"Now now, we don't want to leave a hideous scar on this pretty little neck of yours now do we?" with that he began stroking her neck. "That's better… Now then, have you and your friends got my money yet?" violently turning her towards him he pressed her up against the wall of the tavern.

"Were working on it. But if you hold me here like this there's no way you'll get your money is there?" As she said this she kneed him in the crotch and ran out of the alleyway and into the busy street. She knew so long as she kept where there were plenty of people Grakax and his boys wouldn't be able to touch her. Undoing her front buttons on her dress she wasn't looking where she was going and ended up colliding with a young man and falling to the floor in a very unladylike and undignified manner.

"Shit! Watch where the fuck your going!" struggling to get off the floor she looked up at the man. He was good looking even if he was a little young for her tastes. The hood of his cloak had fallen back revealing his blonde curly hair and his blue eyes. She swore as he pulled his cloak back over his head she had seen him somewhere before. He took her wrist into his and pulled her so close she could feel his breath on her skin.

"You didn't see me… Do you understand?" His blue eyes pleaded with her and for some reason she trusted him. She nodded slowly and he released her from his grip. "Sorry if I hurt you." With that he disappeared down the alleyway.

After a few more hours on the streets working and with as much money as she could safely walk the streets with she decided to go back to her small room in the tavern and get some sleep if she could after all that had happened to her today. Thinking back to the young hooded man she suddenly realized where she had seen him before. Well shed never seen him but she'd heard all the stories of Eragon the shadeslayer. Eragon the dragon rider who had joined the Varden to fight against the tyranny of Galbertorix. She then realized why he had asked her not to speak of seeing him. The king's men had been searching for him since the battle with the Varden. What was he doing in Gil'eed again anyway?

Finally arriving back at the tavern she paid the keeper his due for her room and continued up that stairs after bidding her friends goodnight. Reaching the top of the wooden, creaky stairs she turned left and began walking down the empty corridor towards her sanctuary. Although the room was nothing special she was always happy to get back to it after a long days 'working'. Turning the key slowly in exhaustion she pushed the door open.

"Hello Poppet… didn't think you could escape me that easily did you?" She struggled trying to escape from his grasp but he covered her mouth and nose with a cloth covered in laudanum. As she blacked out the last thing she heard as the blackness engulfed her was the whinnying of horses.

The sudden movement of the floor below her as she awoke from her laudanum-induced sleep told her that she was in a carriage. But why? What would anyone want with her? As she tried to bring herself into seating position the carriage suddenly stopped throwing her once again to the floor. The back of the carriage opened and Grakax entered towering above her small frame. His smile was that of a man who knew he'd like what he was about to get and would do anything to get what he wanted. His gaze shot at her a gleam of hunger alight in his grey eyes.

He loomed over her as she inched backwards across the floor of the carriage.

"Come on now Poppet… there's nothing to worry about… yet. Its nothing you haven't done before. I just want to take a better look and see what I'm offering my important customer."

As he leaned in and unbuttoned the few buttons on her dress she rocked and twisted but couldn't move enough to even hamper him. He spread her dress apart and grinned. He reached in for her breast but stopped before his fingers touched her. He held his hand there a moment, then squeezed it in to a fist and pulled back. Standing up he gazed hungrily at her. She was beautiful but not in the sense that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her. Her red hair fell down towards her back in loose ringlets but at that moment in time was messy and dirty after all how often could a whore afford to bath? Her face though pretty was by no means perfect; she had a nose that was a little too big. There were freckles dotted across the bridge of her nose hinting at a lot of time spent in the summer sun. In fact the only thing he could find that he couldn't fault in any way were her eyes. His customer had been very specific on the type of girl he wanted. He didn't care what she was like, what her temperament was but he had specified green eyes. Not just any green though, emerald green. Gazing into the girl's eyes you could almost forget she was nothing more than a dirty good for only one thing whore. After taking in one more look he left and with that the carriage shuddered once more in to life and began moving.

After he left she managed to sit herself up and move her tied hands form behind her to in front by wriggling and pulling them under herself. When they were in front of her she could see that the knot was loose. However while she was gagged there was nothing she could do. Gazing round the carriage she saw a hook protruding from the carriages side. She wriggled upwards against the wall until she was finally standing. She then lifted her head towards the hook and aligned the jutting metal with her gag and began trying to snag the top edge of the cloth. Suddenly the carriage jolted and the hook sliced her cheek.

"Shit!" She stopped and waited until she was certain that her captor wouldn't come back in the tried again. She brushed her cheek against the hook and this time the gag caught. With that she wriggled the cloth down over her bottom lip and down round her neck. After working her jaw enough to get it strong she began at her bonds with her teeth. Finally freeing her wrists from their bonds she stoked where the rope had dug into her and looked for an escape route.

The only route she could see was the way her captor had used; the back door of the carriage. She knew she would have to loosely tie her bonds again and gag herself in order to get him to come close enough to her so she could knock him out. She did this and then waited patiently. The carriage hadn't moved for the past twenty minutes so she knew he would be in to gloat more about having her any time now. She was right after only another five minutes he opened the back door and climbed in.

His gaze fell immediately to her unbuttoned dress and his eyes blazed with the fire of hunger and desire. Moving closer with each breath he took he spread the top of her dress apart and his mouth hungrily pressed to her neck. Using his lust as her weapon she turned suddenly and knocked his head against the wall. While he sorted she ripped apart her bonds and pulled down her gag. Running towards the semi concussed man she slammed her knee hard into his crotch.

As he gasped and fell to the floor she took the rope that he had used and began tying him up. Putting the gag over his mouth she spat in his face and while doing up her buttons turned away from him and towards her escape. Jumping from the back of the carriage she hadn't bet on his men still being awake.

"The stupid bitch! Get her!" bellowed the first man to see her. As he shouted these orders the men round the fire turned towards her as she sprinted out into the enveloping darkness. She sprinted for her life not risking enough to stop for a breath. After a long while of running she knew she could go no further and collapsed.

As the scorching sun burnt her she began to come back in to consciousness. She could feel something resting on the top of her left breast. As she jerked into a sitting position she screamed and pushed the hand off her. Hearing a thud as the person fell to the floor she got up to her feet and began to stumble away as quick as possible. She didn't know who it was that had touched her all she knew was that she would rather not be anywhere near him. However in her exhausted hot and flustered state her running was little more than a slow paced walk.

"Wait! " she could hear a deep male voice behind her. She would not take the chance of being captured and going back to Grakax. But she couldn't carry on much longer. She was tired and hungry and didn't have a clue when she had last had something to drink. Suddenly it was all too much for her and she felt the blackness once again engulf her entire being.

When she awoke it was night and she could feel the heat of a fire against her back. Turning over she saw the outline of she could only assume the man who had called out to her earlier. She noticed however that she wasn't tied up, there was no gag put over her mouth and she the figure had his back to her. As she tried to sit up she felt as if the weight of the world all fell on her head. As she moaned with pain he turned towards her.

"Who… easy now." Holding the back of her head he helped her sit. Now she could see his face in the dying embers of the fire she knew she would never forget his face.