AN Yay! I met my deadline! Isn't that just terrific? I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! Don't really have much to say right now... so... here's the chapter!
Disclaimer Cornelia Funke owns all recognizable characters!
Chapter Ten
The sun was hanging at the highest point in the sky when Farid finally sat down to rest. He looked down at his bare feet. He had been in such a rush to get to the port he had forgotten his boots--and now they were covered in blisters and cuts. He had long since left the marketplace, so he couldn't make up for that mistake.
But while back there, Farid had done his share of pick pocketing. He had easily taken two over-stuffed coin purses and kept them unnoticed in his fists. "Now I just have to find a place to keep them..." Farid whispered to himself.
In my pants? He questioned himself, but there were no pockets and the only other way to keep them in there would be rather uncomfortable for travel. In the end, he decided to just continue carrying them.
After resting for nearly an hour, Farid continued on again, upset that he had wasted so much time. By dusk, he had already made his way deep into a forest and could hear the sounds of the ocean nearby.
"...Fight me and you die, just like they did." Farid heard a voice whisper in the distance. In reply to that, Farid heard someone cry. From the pitch of it, Farid knew it belonged to a girl, a girl who sounded a lot like...
Farid ran, not carrying about the branch that made its new home in his foot. The owner of the voice came into view, he was holding the girl by her hair--and it was blonde. She wore a purple dress and Farid thought it might once have looked beautiful, but in it's current state--sleeves all but torn off, mud clinging to nearly every patch of purple, and the hem at the bottom fringed and soaked from the damp ground--it looked like a filthy rag.
Hardly even twenty feet from the girl and her captor were two men--the bodies of them at least, the white women had clearly come and gone with them already.
"Let's have some fun, shall we?" The man's words slurred together to make one, but in his life, Farid had learned to decipher a drunkard's words. The girl continued to protest, either not believing the man about killing her or she didn't care whether she lived or not.
From behind the two, Farid couldn't make out much, but he knew what the man meant by "fun", and for the girl, it wouldn't be fun at all--not in her current situation. Feeling the need to step in and stop what he couldn't stop back at his first home, Farid stepped forward.
"Get your hands off of her before I kill you." The drunk man whipped around, not bothering to get his hands away from the girl's hair and chest. The girl's face was swollen from tears, her porcelain white skin covered in blood and dirt. Tears continued to fall from her pale blue eyes.
Farid was torn between several emotions, rage, fury, pity, and relief and joy. He had found Meggie! He hadn't even had to step foot off land!
"What'cha gonna do, little guy?" Again, Farid easily decoded the sentence. Farid remained silent.
"Step away from her!" Farid roared, lunging at the man before him, while the man had size on his side, Farid had speed and years of muscle building. He ripped the mans hands off of Meggie and tackled him to the ground, closing off all sound around him. Farid only wanted to make sure the man before him never hurt Meggie again.
"Mother--" The man began to swore, but a punch to the jaw quickly silenced him except his groan of pain. Still furious with the sad excuse for a man before him, and feeling he hadn't received a proper punishment yet, Farid stood. Quickly he placed his foot on the man's left knee. The man whimpered.
"Please, no!" But Farid did not listen. He let all his weight fall on to the one foot. There was the snap of a bone, and then a scream.
"You little bastard!" The man said through gasps of pain.
"Don't even think to follow us." Farid said, turning around, grabbing Meggie's arm as he ran. They ran for a solid ten minutes before Meggie finally collapsed. Farid brushed his hand against the side of her face, confused when she flinched away.
"What's wrong?" He asked, when she didn't answer, he asked again. "Meggie, what's wrong?" Meggie looked at him with fear in her beautiful blue eyes. Why fear? Farid asked himself.
"Who are you?" She whispered. Farid stared at her agape.
"What are you talking about? You know me, Meggie! I know you know me! I'm Farid! Remember? I'm sorry I didn't save you from the Adder! I meant to but..." His words trailed off into tears. "I'm sorry, Meggie, I did all I could!" When Farid looked up, Meggie looked at him with sympathy in her eyes, all traces of fear had left her.
"I... I'm sorry Farid." Meggie paused for a minute, turning away. "I'm not Meggie. I'm..." She hesitated. "Call me Rose."
AN Alright, that's the end of this chapter! What'd you think? Farid will get the the ship port in his next chapter! Keep on reading! And reviewing! Next chapter will be back to Meggie--and you'll also get to find out what exactly Emily's errand was. Well, bye!