Ransom is Love

Disclaimer: Obviously, the characters aren't mine. Unlike many other people, I do not wish they were. TAMORA PIERCE IS AMAZING!!! Actually, a lot of the characters from now on are going to be mine. If you haven't heard of it, it's probably not mine. Thanks to a, A, and peaky for reviewing the chapter number third. For peaky, I thought Coram was about forty in Lioness Rampant and Alanna was 18 or 19, so he would be 16 when she was -6. Random weird thing: the name Thom means twin. : ) And Alanna means Little Child. Warning: there is language in this chapter. It is rated teen. ; P

Serena woke up to darkness surrounding her. Coram had taught her a few things to do if she was kidnapped, so she proceeded to find out where she could be, what could be happening, and what the chances of escape were. She was bumping up and down: probably on a horse. I guess I'm not escaping anytime soon. If I try to jump off, I'll probably break something, and if there's horses behind me I could get trampled. I think I'm still in the bag that I was in earlier, so they're not bothering to move me around or else it hasn't been that long. This doesn't look so good. I have a minimal chance of escaping alive, so I shouldn't try it, and I've probably been captured by Scanrans. She tried not to start crying. Maude says that Serena means calm and I must be calm. And Trebonds are always strong. We don't cry. She gulped in some air and hiccuped. I'm all right. Coram says hiccups are signs of good health. Thus consoled, she set about praying to the Goddess that she help her get through this and go back home. Like any little girl would be, she was shocked when she heard a voice in her head. Good day, my daughter. You are getting through this as well as can be expected.

Are you the Goddess?

No. I caught your prayer as it went to her. You see, I'm not that busy, as there aren't many missing children about the place.

What?

I am Shamira. I protect missing children. Not many people have heard of me.

Why not?

Not many people need me. King Roald and his vassals protect their kingdom very well from kidnapping bandits such as the ones that have captured you.

Oh. What's going to happen to me?

I don't see the future. I can protect you and give you strength and other such things, but I have no control over you. Your choices make your destiny.

What do I do if I need you?

You have a special Gift. If you reach inside, you'll find a green fire. You can enter this fire and call my name. In your head normally, but if you have to than feel free to shout.

Thank you.

Best of luck to you, my daughter. With that, Serena felt the presence in her head vanish. A moment later, the bumping underneath her slowed and stopped and she was roughly pulled off the horse's back and thrown to the ground. Feeling slightly dazed, she could only lie there has the bag was cut open.

'Hello, pretty little girl. We're nasty raiders from Scanra and we've kidnapped you! How does that make you feel?' Serena stared up at the deformed man above her. He had scars crisscrossing all over his face and a chunk missing out of his nose.

'Terrified,' she replied, and kicked him where no man wishes to be kicked.

'You little bitch!' he shouted in a voice that was about an octave above normal. He raised a hand to hit her when someone caught it from behind. 'Leave her, Gunnar. She is for the leader, not for you to throw about as you please.' A handsome young man, about 14 years old, came into view. 'Hello, little one. I'm Lewis. We, as Gunnar told you, have kidnapped you. And you are going to be held ransom. There is one rule for ransom. If your parents reply to the ransom, they love you. If they don't, they don't love you. It's easy! What do you think?' Serena refused to answer.

'You don't want to talk? You're too strong, I suppose. But we'll break you. You want to know how?' Yes. Silence.

'Ah, I see you want it to be kept a secret. That's fine by me. You don't deserve to know. You see, you're scum. All Tortallan nobility is scum. You don't even deserve to lick the dirt off my boots. That's how worthless you are. And you know what? I should just kill you now, but even the scavengers wouldn't want to eat you. How does that make you feel?' Indifferent. Silence.

'I see you've decided not to answer me at all. Oh well. Maybe the leader will change your mind. He's off doing important business that doesn't concern scum at all. I wonder what we'll do with you next. Parents never pay the ransom. Mine didn't, up in Scanra. That's why I'm here. You'll probably be killed. Not by the leader, of course. You don't deserve the honor. No, he'll confer it to someone below him. I'll see you later, scum.' He punched her in the stomach and walked away. Wonder what's wrong with him. He doesn't look Scanran. His hair's black and his eyes are green. Strange. I wonder what's going to happen next. Supposedly, the leader is going to send my family a ransom, they're not going to pay, and I'm going to die. It took all of her self-control not to scream and try to run. I wouldn't make it a foot away before someone shot me. So now I must wait. She made herself as comfortable as possible and settled down to wait.

It was hours before anything new happened. The sun was low in the sky and night was almost upon them when Serena heard footsteps. A man about the same age as her father appeared above her. 'So, the little girl that we got out of Trebond. What to do with you. You see, I should probably send a ransom, but we don't need that much money. You're pretty much useless. Maybe I should kill you.' Serena knew that her face showed no emotion. 'I know! I'm going to use you as my personal servant. First I'll send your parents a ransom. I suppose Lewis told you the rule?' Silence. 'I'll take that as a yes. Well, I'm off to write the letter and if you're lucky - which is unlikely - you'll be back with your family tomorrow! I'll send someone with some crusts to keep you alive for the next few hours.' He smiled evilly at her and wandered off. Serena finally gulped in some air, trying not to start crying. She was hungry, tired, and terrified that her parents weren't going to pay the ransom and leave her there. Mama just had a baby. She'll be too tired out from that to pay money to get me back. Actually, she was going to have twins. I remember that from my dream. Maybe it'll get better later. She tried to stay awake for long enough to eat, but somehow she never made it.
'Wake up, scum.' Serena felt a sharp pain in her side and opened her eyes. 'Good, you're awake,' Lewis muttered. 'Here's some bread and water. That's all you're going to get, so don't bother crying and begging for more.' Crying and begging for more? Why would I do that? This is what I got when Maude decided spanking me wasn't enough. I wonder, should I leave the food as protest? She considered this possibility for a moment before deciding against it. That kind of fighting is useless. I heard what they said. They wouldn't care if I died. And I need my strength. She politely broke the crust in half and offered Lewis a piece. There's no reason that I shouldn't be nice to him. He deliberated for a minute before reaching out and taking it. 'They didn't give me breakfast this morning. Serena waited until he was finished before offering the water. 'No, I'm all right. There's a stream over there.' He looked at her for a few seconds before leaning down and whispering, 'If you aren't killed, I'll sneak you some extra food. Be quiet about it though.' She nodded minimally and he walked away quickly before anyone thought it was suspicious. I have an ally. Lovely. Of course, he could be faking it, but I might as well trust him. What could happen? I'm probably going to die anyway. Serena smiled. She rather liked this game now.
I hope everyone likes it. Sorry for not updating for a couple weeks. I'll be going away soon, so I won't be able to update for three weeks. I'll try really really hard to put another up before I leave. I'm going to London! Squee!