The remainder of the day was spent in casual bliss, the followed the stream and made idle chat. Farid was amazed at how easy it was to talk to Meggie. Conversation flowed easily, although the things Farid was used to talking about- higher taxes, where the security was most lax, and how to best avoid being beaten- couldn't be topics, there weren't any difficulties. Somehow, they had overlapping interests. Meggie had always wanted to get animals; Farid's favorite chore was looking after the animals the thieves had acquired. Meggie loved to hear firsthand accounts of the back stories of characters from Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and they spent a long time exchanging stories about getting in and out of trouble. Farid's were a bit more intriguing, but Meggie had read more good books. She told him about the mischief of Bilbo Baggins and his dwarf companions, wove tales of four children who saved an entire country from a witch and the two children who helped create the very same world. Some of the most absurd things he believed in, but the simplest things he couldn't fathom. Talking lions and magic made more sense to him than a woman singing about being a slave and dancing.
They didn't stop walking until the sun was setting. Farid easily started a fire, and then him and Meggie split up for their tasks. Meggie went off to collect firewood, and Farid went in search of food. A rabbit or two would be good enough; they would probably reach civilization the next day. Meggie stuck close to the fire, not wanting to get lost in these woods at night. Nothing had attacked them so far, but she heard rustling in the trees and saw eyes at night. Meggie plodded back to camp, her feet heavy from the day's trek. She was feet away from the clearing when a tall figure jumped from a tree, holding a knife. Meggie threw the firewood at the figure and screamed, "Farid!" Her voice was shrill with panic. The knife wielder blocked his face from the firewood and grabbed at Meggie, but her panic was clearing up as adrenaline pumped through her veins, and she side stepped him. She attempted to jab him in the stomach, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her in, pulling her to the ground. Meggie kicked and screamed "Farid!" again, but no one came. The assaulter forced her entire body to the ground and sat on her back. Meggie squirmed and kicked, a stream of obscenities that would have made Elinor blush rushing from her mouth.
"I think your boyfriend might be a bit held up, sweets," A thick, manly voice mocked. He pushed her face into the ground and laughed, a rough, sick sound. Fear rushed though her. Farid hadn't come yet; what if he had been captured? This world didn't have justice systems like hers, and here no one would know they were missing. If she couldn't get away, it was hopeless. She had to get away, find a way to trick him into letting her go.
Meggie faked a deep cough and pretended to choke for a minute before going limp. She held her breath waited for the attacker to turn her over, check for a pulse or at least get off of her, but all he did was shift lower on her body. Meggie waited a bit longer, hoping he would get off, before exhaling. She was preparing to push herself up and fight again when she heard a rustling. Could it be Farid? For a split second she felt a surge of hope, but she pushed it away. There was no use in use in false hope. She'd have to get herself out of this.
Her captor turned his head toward the noise, and Meggie took her chance. She forced herself up, thankful they were forced to do push-ups every day in gym, and got the man off of her. He was disgruntled for a moment, but recovered quickly. Meggie sprinted away, too afraid to look back on her purser, towards the campsite. It was empty, and the fire was dying already.
"Farid!" Meggie called her voice a few octaves higher with fear. This time, a voice filled with relief answered, "Meggie!"
"I'm at the campsite!"
"Shouldn't've said that, sweetheart," A slick, oily voice behind the girl said. She could hear the sick smirk in his voice. A rush of anger seized her; why where these people after them? They didn't seem like thieves, her pockets and bag were never searched. Their goal had to be something much more sinister, something Meggie wouldn't let herself consider. The thought sent Meggie into overdrive; they would NOT capture her. Her hand flew to the fire and without conscious thought she grabbed an unburned end of a stick. She spun around to face her new attacker, apprising him quickly. Shorter and slimmer than the other, but he had a sharp knife and an evil glint in his shallow, watery brown eyes. She jabbed the burning end in his direction and said in the most cold, sharp voice she could muster, "Leave us alone and we'll let you walk away from here." The criminal merely raised and eyebrow and chuckled. Where was Farid? She needed his help!
Her worry must've shown, because the next words from the man's mouth were, "Wondering about your boyfriend? I had more than one man, silly girl." Meggie glared at him, but didn't move. She was afraid if she got too close he might attack her, and if it turned into a fight, she didn't think she could win. But maybe false confidence and clever words could get her out of this.
"I don't see why you're after us, we have nothing to offer. Pretty poor choice to waste manpower here." The man smirked and took a step forward. Meggie jabbed the stick forward again in response, but didn't step back. He could be leading her into a trap. Where was Farid?
"Do you know what we do, little girl?"
This time, Meggie smirked. It was slightly forced she wasn't used to behaving like this, but it was needed. "If I'm right, any "little girl" wouldn't be involved in such businesses."
The man laughed. "You'd be surprised about the tastes of some men in this country. You'll be perfect." Meggie blanched and glared at the man, disgusted. If there were men like that here- which she was sure there was- she had to make herself unappealing. The perverts wanted a little girl, so she had to make herself not seem little.
"I'm afraid I might not fit their tastes. They aren't going to want a mother." This time, the man didn't smirk or laugh. His expression was cold, with an angry edge. "If you're a mother, where's the child?"
"I'm with child. Not a little girl anymore, am I?" The lie was easy; Meggie had lied to plenty of people before. School teachers, Elinor, her father. But there had never been so much riding on her ability to play an improvised part.
"Your boyfriend will fetch just as much as you on the market. He's… exotic." Meggie's heart raced. Now both their fates depended on her, unless Farid could get away. But if he wasn't here yet, she couldn't count on it.
"Have you ever heard of Dustfinger? The fire eater…?" Meggie drifted off, pausing to see his reaction. For the smallest fraction of a second, fear filled the man's eyes. But then it went back to his cold, angry demeanor. "Dustfinger disappeared ten years ago. Besides, he's no superhero. He's not going to help you just because you're pregnant. You're nothing special."
"He's back. And my boyfriend is his apprentice." Despite the situation, butterflies fluttered in Meggie's stomach at calling Farid her boyfriend. More than that, she had said he was the father of her child. She could barely form the words in her mind, it was somehow more difficult than saying it aloud. At that moment, Meggie heard a strangled voice call out and the sound of flesh hitting flesh. "Farid!" She screamed again. The man watching her turned towards the trees. Meggie sprinted into the woods, running a few yards in so she was sure he couldn't see her. Her fear shut off, now what she had to do was find Farid. She circled around the site, hiding behind trees and crawling. The man that had confronted her was nowhere to be seen. Panic picked up, but she trekked on. The woods were dark; the sun had gone completely down and the large, thick leaves blocked out the moon. She couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her, but the voices were getting louder. As well as the sound of hits.
When the voices were loud and the sound of flesh striking flesh brought tears to Meggie's eyes, she knew she was close. She poked her head through the bushes and saw four more men around Farid, as well as the one who had tried to corner her.
"We lost the girl," The leader said, glaring at Farid. "But I expect she'll come back for him." At that, Farid thrashed around, trying to force the men off of him. One of them punched him in the face, and he fell to the ground. Meggie choked back a sob at the sight. His face was bloody and he was gagged. He looked up at the men with some of the purest hatred Meggie had ever seen.
The leader kneeled next to him and picked him up by his hair. He yanked out the gag, and Farid spit in his face, but stayed silent. The leader slapped him, but the boy still didn't let out a sound. Tears welled up in Meggie's eyes, she closed her eyes but the image stayed with her. She would have nightmares about this for months, even if they got away safely. This was almost as bad as the time Mo was beat up by a gang when they took a wrong turn on the way to a book collector's house and ended up in a bad neighborhood.
"Don't want your girlfriend to find you? I hope you'll think differently after this." The man pulled out a knife to rival Basta's and ran it along Farid's cheek. "If you don't call for her, you don't ever be able to speak again." Meggie's heart stopped. Farid glared at the man, not uttering a word. He wouldn't say a word, and it would cost him his life.