I awoke to the smell of delicious cooking. When I tried to move however, I discovered my hands had been tied behind my back.
"Oh, no…" I thought, "What the hell happened?"
I began to observe my surroundings. It appeared I was in some sort of a tent, I which various items were scattered about, including a lantern, some playing cards, and a blanket. Suddenly, the curtain of the tent was opened and the face of a man popped through.
"Good morning," he said, "You were in quite the predicament last night."
It all came back to me just then. The storm! And the branch! I must have blacked out.
"What do you want?" I said viciously.
"Oh nothing really," he replied, "I was hoping to find more in your pockets that's all."
"Well," I said, "You have your money, now let me go!"
"Not now," he countered, "I know who you are."
I froze. Did he know about the witch?
"That's right," he said, "You're the princess and I want my full pay from the queen when she wants you back."
"They don't want—" I stopped. He couldn't find out about what happened.
"They don't want what?" he asked.
"Nothing…" I whispered.
"Well," he continued, "Now that that's over with, I'm Caleb. And you are Azkadellia I presume?"
"I thought you already had that figured out, genius."
He looked amused, "Oh, feisty aren't we?" His expression quickly changed to alarm when he realized whatever he was cooking was burning.
He rushed outside the tent and I was left alone again. Suddenly, I felt a twang of guilt as I thought of DG and my mother. I was going to be this man's captive for a while since my mother will want to have nothing to do with me because I killed DG. I expected the witch to break into my thoughts, but when she didn't, I realized she was still regaining power. I then felt empowered again, but this time I felt this way because I was free…free from the malevolence of the witch. My thoughts were interrupted by the man, Caleb, as he walked in with a steaming bowl of soup.
"So, I'm going to untie you, but don't try anything…besides, who would want to miss my spectacular soup!" He chuckled.
Oh, god, this guy is a nut job, but this could be my chance to escape. I could return home and explain to mother what had happened, or…could I? She would never forgive me…
Then, Caleb leaned toward me with a knife in hand, and reached for my hands to untie the rope. I tried not to look at him, but I couldn't help but notice his lean physique and angular face. He was attractive, to say the least, and then our eyes met. He had piercing, forest green eyes; a perfect contrast to his dark, black hair and tan skin. As soon as it had started, our glance was over. I was cut loose, and I was about to run for it. Then, I heard it…
