Cassandra tore through the woods, desperate to get away. Her heart had broken; he had turned his back on her. It was silly of her to think that they could be together, knowing what he was. Cassandra's skirts tore as they became entangled in the briers, and thorn bushes, and a low branch whipped her face, bloodying her cheek. This was pain she could take, could understand. Where had they gone wrong?
Blinded by her tears, Cassandra tripped the uneven ground, and skidded across the underbrush. She sat up quickly, brushing as much of the dirt off of herself as she could manage. When she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, she quickly tried to conceal herself behind a bush.
"Well…well..well… look at who we have here" the voice issuing from the man made Cassandra's blood run cold. She recognized the voice, it was one of the British soldiers under Tavington's command. The man she had met only once before, at the Ball that seemed a lifetime ago now. "Running away at last are you, little traitor?" he asked, his cold voice full of malice.
Cassandra stared up at the man, her bloody and dirt stained face defiant. "I am not a traitor as you very well know sir!" she said with all the strength she could muster. "And I'm not running away… I was…. Sent away" Cassandra lowered her eyes in embarrassment as her voice broke on the last bit.
"Ahh, so the Colonel's finally come to his senses and done away with you has he?" he man asked, his eyes taking on a new glint. "Pity, you were a pretty thing, even for an American. A pity too, that I must do away with you, for one can never take chances. You know too much my dear… but I wonder" the soldier reached down and ran a hand down Cassandra's face, as he seemed to consider her for a moment.
Cassandra tried to back away, her heart beating as fast as a freight train. The man was scaring her, and she had no weapon with which to defend herself. Cassandra let out a cry of pain as the man grabbed her roughly by the hair and yanked her up and to him.
"I may have some use for you after all" he mused, close enough now for Cassandra to smell the whiskey on his breath. The man pressed his lips to hers, and struggle as she did, Cassandra could not break his grip on her. After a moment, the man pulled away, his face turning violent as he backhanded Cassandra back to the ground. Dropping down in front of her, the man grabbed his boot dagger and stabbed it into Cassandra's skirts, and with a ferocious yank, ripped her skirts from the knee down. Cassandra kicked and clawed at the man as he removed his sword from its sheath, leaning it against a tree before he forced his way between her legs and on top of her, effectively pinning her beneath him, as his hands began to grope her breasts through the material.
"I shall have you little traitor" he whispered into her ear "Before I kill you"
Cassandra fought harder than before, she had no doubt left that this man meant to kill her, but not before it seemed that he would use her. "HELP!" she screamed as loudly as she could. "PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!"
The man slapped Cassandra hard in the face again before clamping his hand over her mouth. "There is no one to help you now little traitor" he said laughing in her face.
William Cassandra thought turning her head and closing her eyes tightly, William, please help me.