Note:
As always I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed and apologize ahead of time for this chapter. It may be a bit hard to swallow for some people because this chapter is more violent than any previous ones but also because it took forever to get this chapter posted. This is also a very long chapter for you guys to enjoy. Also a quick thank you to my friend Dusk who translated Greek for me, as always you're awesome! So go ahead and read.
Chapter 13 – Those Who Fight
Third Person POV – Unknown Woman
They continued to walk and the appearance of the woman seemed to worsen as time went on. It must have been well over a week since they left the ship and her dress was barely a dress any more. It was stained from dirt and blood, ripped beyond compare, and hung loosely off her shoulders. Her arms were becoming skinnier and her face showed signs of the lack of food she had consumed. There was cuts all over her arms and legs from either the nature or the company of pirates she was forced to travel with. Her hair was frizzed and a curly mess with dried blood stuck in the front left side of her hair. Her cheeks were bruised from the punishments of continued escape attempts and her lip was cut. Her dark eyes shined with hate and determination that the pirates had tried without success to break. She was a strong one, and they knew that the moment they took her as they did Selene.
During her last escape attempt the Captain had punished one of the four men who were watching her. He killed Goldie to make an example out of him, and now he hung from a tree a few miles back. It was a warning to anyone who will be put in charge of watching her, failure was death. The only good that came from Goldie's death was simply that it one less idiot she would have to rid herself of. One of the men, the one she often referred to as Mermaid, smirked in her direction. Despite her sorry appearance there was still a sort of beauty to her. Her skin was naturally flawless other than the cuts that now marred it and the bruises that she received from the captain. Her determination was somewhat attractive, or it would be if it wasn't to kill everyone around her at the moment. Her slim body and strong limps were hints at what she used to be.
«Γιατι δε μας διασκεδαζεις λιγο? Στο κατω κατω, αυτο δε κανει ο λαος σου?» (Why don't you entertain us? That's what your kind does isn't it?) Mermaid asked as his grin showed his yellowing teeth. His eyes trailed down the dark haired woman's figure and she gave up a disgusted snort in response to him. His comment angered her more than she let on, but it was not an uncommon comment thrown her way, but it was something that many never directly said to her face. Too much risk in it. She knew that he did because he thought he was safe. Far from her home and with her arms tied behind her back once more, unarmed, and weak from hunger; so he thought he was safe to make any comments he pleased.
«Ο λαος μου? Ο λαος μου στελνει κατι πειρατες σαν εσενα στους ταφους τους στη θαλασσα! Ισως να μην μπορω να σε πνιξω στη στερια, αλλα μπορω ανετα να σε σκοτωσω.» (My kind? Well my kind puts pirates like you in your watery graves. I cannot drown you on land but I can kill you none the less.) She answered. Her eyes held a dark fury that promised pain for his rudeness. She wanted to kill him, she wanted to kill all the men who currently surrounded her. The cowards who couldn't fight her on fair terms so they use cheap tricks and numbers to win. Every second that she spend forced in their company fueled that anger and distain for them. As well as the shame she felt for failing the one job that she kept to her heart, the one thing that made her who she was, the thing that gave her the friends and the life she worked hard to keep. They made her fail her job and for that they would feel her anger tenfold, they would die. She would redeem herself for her Queen as well as for her own honor.
«Χα!» (Ha!) Mermaid exclaimed. Causing the girl to look at him from the corner of her eye.
«Να με σκοτωσεις? Εισαι μια απλη χορευτρια και τιποτε αλλο! Φανηκες για καλο κατοικιδιο στη βασιλισσα, και γι αυτο σε κρατησε! Αλλα ειναι στο αιμα σου, γυναικουλα... Οσο και να προπονηθεις, οσα σπαθια και αν κρατησεις, θα εισαι παντα ενα κοριτσι του μπαρ. Να με σκοτωσεις? Εισαι μια απλη χορευτρια και τιποτε αλλο! Φανηκες για καλο κατοικιδιο στη βασιλισσα, και γι αυτο σε κρατησε! Αλλα ειναι στο αιμα σου, γυναικουλα... Οσο και να προπονηθεις, οσα σπαθια και αν κρατησεις, θα εισαι παντα ενα κοριτσι του μπαρ!» (Kill me? You are a dancing girl and that is all you will ever be. The Queen saw you as a little pet, and so she kept you. But it's in your blood woman, no matter how much training you have or swords you receive, you will always be a bar girl!) Blinding fury rushed over her, she saw red from her anger and a new wave of determination rushed over her and into her blood stream. She let a low growl slip past her swollen lips and gritted her teeth slightly. In a deadly calm she spoke quietly to the damn pirate that walked beside her.
«Θα εισαι ο πρωτος που θα πεθανει στα χερια μου.» (You will be the first to die by my hands.) The dark haired woman spoke and each word seemed to be dripping with venom and a coldness that put winter to shame. It was a promise of death from her, and he would be the first man that she killed here. The pirate tried not to let it show that her threat got to him a little and he let out a snort rather than respond to her. However despite how uncaring and unworried he made himself seem she did notice that he seemed to create a bit more space between them. For that she bowed her head down a little and her hair covered her brown eyes as a small smile graced her lips.
"मौत इंतजार कर रहा है." (Death awaits you.) She hummed silently to the man. Mermaid looked a little disturbed at the change in language she used, and while he did not know what she said it unsettled the man more than he cared to admit. They walked on as the captive woman continued whispering things in Hindi to the tattooed man, things he didn't understand but they were all threats. They walked hours and soon Mermaid was allowed to walk ahead and Eye Patch took his place walking next to the dark haired girl. The two of them walked in silence. He felt no need to say anything to the woman and she was focused on trying to find a way to escape and kill Mermaid as she had promised. The sun fell low in the sky before it disappeared completely and they stopped to camp for the night. They were packed up before the sun even rose and moved on. After the first two hours of walking Eye Patch was replaced with Scar and the walk continued. Her stomach was gnawing away at its self from hunger but she bit her lip and remained silent. She would not give them the pleasure of knowing how much they were actually starving her.
The woods were thinning slowly around them and soon they would have to be out on open road. The Captain of the crew found himself realizing that soon they could no longer hide amongst the trees. They would have to think of a new way to restrain the woman. If people came across her beaten and tied it would draw attention and they would likely have to deal with people trying to help her. They walked on and looked for a place to set camp for the night in the woods. They had come across an abandoned camp site that looked a little fresh; most likely it was used hours earlier. But they left it and moved a little ways ahead of it in case the people who had camped there came back. It wouldn't do them good if they stayed only for them to come back, then they would likely have to get rid of the campers. Most people would go find help if they came across their little group, and they couldn't have that. So they continued walking until they lost sight of the former used camp. After about another twenty minutes they made camp as the sun went down.
Change of POV - Third Person - The Rangers of Emyn Arnen
Everything was eerily quiet that night after the sun set. Hours passed during the night and there were no sounds coming from owls or other birds and even the crickets seemed to be silent. The unnatural silence caused everyone to be on high alert; the captive and the pirates alike. The Captain barked out orders to his men and a few of them broke off to observe their surroundings as well as find food, while the others stayed at camp and started a small fire as they kept an eye on their prisoner. Shadows moved in the dark as they slowly but surely surrounding the camp of pirates. Human eyes rested on the figure of a young woman, in her current position she looked like a damsel in distress, a helpless maiden in need of rescuing from the stronger men. They could not see much of her face other than her cut lip. Her dark, and currently frizzed, curly hair that covered most of her face as she stared down at her bruised ankles. The rangers had come across the group by chance as they patrolled the forests around their beloved home. Normally their captain would have joined them on this, but he was busy with his wife Eoywn and Elven guest. So the duty fell upon his second in command to carry out the patrols and take temporary leadership. They watched for a while at first. Seeing as the poorly dressed men would switch who was watching the woman; for whatever reason she seemed to be their main focus.
He rose a gloved hand in the night air, the moons light making him seen by his fellow rangers in the dark. At his hand they responded instantly as well in sync with one another; they slid the bows off their backs and notched an arrow while taking aim at the camp. Then they waited, these strangers hadn't done much other than sneaking around, but the appearance of a tied up as well as beaten woman didn't sit well with the Rangers of Emyn Arnen. They watched as one of the men moved, he was rather big with long beard and an eye patch covering his left eye. He walked around the fire, looking at the forest with his visible eye roaming over the trees, trying to spot anything as they waited for the rest of their company to return. The woman spoke, but the rangers didn't know what she said and wondered if she was speaking Elvish. A scarred man beside her growled and hit her, causing her to fall to the side with a painful sounding thud. The rangers tensed, a few of them more visibly upset than others at the poor treatment towards the woman. The scarred man rose and kicked her in the stomach, it was in that moment that the ranger's temporary captain rose his hand higher than before and swiftly brought it down as arrows whistled through the air.
Change in POV – First Person – Unknown Woman's POV
I was laying on the ground, every kick to my stomach caused me to cough up any air I had stored in my lungs and quickly try to breathe new air in. With every breath I drew in dirt seemed to be inhaled as well. It caused me to cough slightly as Scar growled and yelled something incoherent to me. I suppose commenting on his precious Captain abandoning them to face whatever unsettled the forest alone upset him, then openly stating my goal to kill them as well as their Captain made his anger worse. His kicks hurt, but I had felt worse and prepared myself for another blow that never came. When I looked up I saw him fall forward and land just a few inches in front of my face. In his back there were two arrows in his back. What happened next seemed to be a blur.
More arrows came out from the trees as the Captain of the Pirate crew ran back into the scene. He had dragged a hooded figure covered in blood and dropped the lifeless lump on the ground as he wiped blood from his sword. Two nervous mates of his ducked close to the ground to avoid arrows as he stood tall and confident; only reminding me of why I wanted to kill the bastard.
«Καπετανιε! Τι να κανουμε?!» (Captain! What will you have us do?!) One of his cronies; a bald man with an ugly scar on his torso called out. While the other mate, a man with blonde hair wearing a bandana stepped hesitantly back towards the woods. Only to have an arrow nearly impale his foot. He jerked forward, once again falling beside Baldy.
«Σκοτωστε τους.» (Kill them.) The Captain answered in an emotionless tone. With that said the pirates let out a throaty roar and pulled out their swords. I had to roll myself out of the way of the pirates running towards another patch of trees. I continued rolling until my back hit a rock to avoid being trampled under their feet. In that moment as arrows were fired a few dark figures emerged from the woods drawing their swords. Then the real righting began. The arrows stopped and it was metal clashing against metal as the pirates tried to fight off the cloaked figures. Soon more of the cloaked figures arrived to help the first three that entered the clearing. The fires light danced around the two groups fighting and I worked on trying to free my hands from behind my back. Suddenly a sword came down in front of my laid position and I glanced up and saw that Mermaid had been disarmed. He quickly dodged the sword of a hooded man and jumped to the side to get a different sword that laid next to the lifeless scarred man. Arrows were being shot once again at the company of pirates as the hooded figures with swords continued their onslaught.
«Καπετανιε, υπερτερουν!» (Captain we are overwhelmed!) The pirate wearing a bandana yelled; obviously he wanted to retreat. I paid him little mind as I turned my body and pushed my hands near the sharp blade to cut myself free of the bonds.
«Τρεξε και πεθανες!» (You run and you will die!) The Captain's voice rang out in the mist of battle. I pressed the ropes to the blade of the sword and rubbed the rope against the blade until they broke apart. I let out a yelp of pain when I felt the blade sink into my palms slightly. I pulled back quickly and looked at my hands, they were bleeding steadily but it didn't cut too deep from what I could see. I pushed myself off the ground and looked around me. A few of the pirates were running into the woods with their Captain, the battle was obviously lost to them and they knew that they couldn't stay any longer. Scar and Baldy were still on the ground, blood leaking out of their mouths as they laid dead.
My head and stomach hurt as I glanced around again. That's when I saw him, he laid on the ground panting as an arrow was sticking out of his chest. The cloaked men hadn't approached me yet as they tended their own wounded numbers and a few other pursued the Captain and his mates. I made my way over to the man on the ground, he was still breathing and slowly I leaned down and picked up a discarded sword from the dirt. Blood rolled down the hilt of the sword from my newly cut hands as I stopped walking and stood above the dying pirate. His mermaid tattoo marked who he was. I lifted the sword and he stared at me with frightened and cold eyes.
«Δεν το εχεις μεσα σου!» (You don't have it in you!) He yelled at me; gaining the attention of the cloaked figures around us. I tilted my head to the side slightly, as I dropped down to my knees next to him.
«Που ξερεις εσυ τι εχω και τι δεν εχω στο αιμα μου? Οπως ειπες, ειμαι απλα μια κοπελα απ' τα μπαρ.» (How do you know what I do or do not have in my blood? As you stated, I am a simple bar girl.) A second later I brought the blade down and stabbed him in the chest, then I lifted the sword and repeated the action. Blood splattered onto my face but I didn't blink. Death was something I had witnessed time and time again, and as I looked onto Mermaid's deathly pale face I remembered how I came to be here. The drunken men trying to grab at me and my sisters as we were forced to dance for them. The wine bottle I broke over his head when he pulled me out of the groups and pushed me on the floor. The screams tearing through my sisters and my own throat when I realized what I had done. I ran away that night and in the morning I ended up jumping into a river, desperate for water, when I saw her. She stood before me and spoke kindly, both in Greek and Hindi.
She gave me life, she gave me more meaning and education. I was given to the guards as an apprentice and I worked hard to prove myself. I worked hard to show that I appreciated what she did for me that day; I worked to protect my Queen, then to protect the friends I made later that year. That was six years ago, back when I was fourteen; but it felt like a life time ago. I let go of the sword, it stuck up from Mermaid's chest and the hilt was stained with my blood. Then in seconds there were hands on me and I screamed, kicked, and bit at the people who grabbed me. I struggled as the hooded men forcefully carried me through the woods, to some unknown place. I struggled until my body gave out on my and everything was becoming fuzzy and blended together. Before I passed out I heard one of the men making some sounds, I vaguely wondered if he had spoken, but my head was a bit cloudy and I could not understand him.
"We must get her to the house of healing, her cuts look infected."
Note:
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and let me know what you think. Also I want to see if anyone has figured out who this girl is (not by name, but she's been shown like 3 times), I think I left some pretty good hints in this chapter. Anyways I'm sorry if the fight scene sucked, I'm not the best at those.